airconditioning he was more enthusiastic talking about my work to the journalist than about discussing hisit was close to lunch that i met the family in full force which included ajitabh who had come down from london we sat down to dine in the finest silver crockery over a 12course meal there were furtive glances from the staff trying to see what kind of a star i was to merit such an honour perhaps the reason was that i was an academic and so was harivanshrai bachchan teji amitabhs mother told me that harivanshrai had read my workamitabh was perceptive of my addiction to pickles and insisted that it should be always set before me for meals jaya was torn between being a good host and just chatting with me finding in me a fellow bengali who remembered her glorious films and her famous bengali directors but the memory that i would cherish were the philosophical discussions with amitabh and jaya over the nature of self manifestations of ego anger morality law and justice democracy and ethics stardom and cinema poetry and epic spectacle and extravaganza violence and obscenity rightwing politics and liberalism vendetta of the media and the emancipatory power of popular culture of husain and ganesh pyne of eyes and laughter of image and appeal much of this has been captured in my forthcoming book of 60 philosophical essays around the image of amitabh bachchanas a jnu student susmita dasgupta spent a week at amitabh bachchans mumbai residence prateeksha in the 1980s here she recounts her recollections