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Amitabh Bachchan often drops his views on X and on his blogs, but cryptically. Many a times, he also is seen stopping himself from expressing his thought. Bachchan ad recently sparked speculation with a post that read, “Wanted to say something, but thought – NO!! Don’t say it.” While the actor did not elaborate, the message generated widespread discussion on the internet. Paresh Rawal has now reflected on Bachchan's state of mind and what could be the reason for him being holding himself back from expressing his opinions many times.

“People are afraid. They fear harassment from those in authority. Earlier, some people spoke unapologetically. If you notice, the number of such people has also reduced over time," Rawal said in an interview with Vickey Lalwani.

He then reflected on Amitabh Bachchan's political journey and the challenges the veteran actor has faced over the years. He added, “What will he do at this age? He has seen how people tore him apart after the VP Singh episode. If power comes after you, it can ruin your life. We don’t know everything he went through. He suffered a lot. Amitabh is not someone who believes in conflict. He prefers peace. He folds his hands and ends the argument there itself. Many mistake that for weakness. He doesn’t like fights, toxicity or negativity around him.”

During the same interview, Rawal also spoke about his own political career and clarified that his stint as Member of Parliament did not limit his acting assignments, contrary to popular belief. Rawal entered politics in 2014 as the BJP MP from Ahmedabad East. After serving one term, he chose not to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. During those years, his film appearances became less frequent, leading many to believe politics had affected his acting career.

However, Rawal dismissed that assumption. He said, “Politics never really played a role in the reduced number of films I did. The number reduced because I refused to do them. I am using the word ‘refuse’ and not ‘reject’. Many times, I simply didn’t find merit in the scripts or the stories.” He further explained that balancing Parliament and films was never a challenge.

“Even while being a politician, I had enough time to do films. Parliament functions for around 110 days a year. I still had about 265 days to myself. I had even reduced my theatre shows.” Rawal also revisited the circumstances surrounding '102 Not Out', revealing that he had originally been cast in the role that was eventually played by Rishi Kapoor .

The film, directed by Umesh Shukla and starring Amitabh Bachchan, was delayed before going on floors. While reports at the time suggested Rawal exited because of his parliamentary commitments, the actor claimed that was not the real reason.

“In 102 Not Out, I was supposed to play the role that Rishi Kapoor eventually did. I was associated with the project for two to three years. Then suddenly, I was out. I asked Umesh what happened, and he told me someone had refused to work with me. He never named that person. I still don’t know exactly why I was removed, but I can tell you it had nothing to do with my political stint.”

When asked whether he ever tried to discover who was responsible for his exit, Rawal said he chose not to press the issue out of respect for director Umesh Shukla.

“I didn’t pursue it because Umesh is a friend. I asked him once, understood that there were issues, and didn’t want to embarrass him. I could have dug out the truth. I was the victim in that situation. I know who wanted me out, but I don’t want to say it publicly. I even confronted that person, but they denied knowing anything about it. I let it go. Whenever I have a problem with someone, I prefer calling them directly instead of speculating.”