'Amitji just refuses to slow down'

'His family keeps telling him to take it easy, but he won't listen.'

Eye surgery cannot deter the Bachchan hurricane.

Barely hours after surgery and his return home, the unstoppable actor is anxious to get back to work.

He is the only major star who has as many as five projects in various stages of completion.

There's the suspense thriller Chehre, followed by the sports epic Jhund . Then, the sci-fi thriller Brahmastra where he shares screen space for the first time with his favourite contemporary actor, Ranbir Kapoor.

While Chehre needs Mr Bachchan's time for promotion, Jhund is in post-production and will require his shooting dates.

Brahmastra is a long way from being completed.

In addition, Mr Bachchan has a guest appearance in Queen, the Kannada remake of Vikas Bahl's Queen.

It all adds up to a whole lot of work, and health setbacks are a big stumbling block.

"Amitji just refuses to slow down. Health cannot stop him. His family keeps telling him to take it easy but he won't listen," a close friend of the family tells Subhash K Jha.

In an earlier interview when I had asked the megastar to slow down, his response was: 'It's all about time management. And please don't ask me to slow down. I am not here to conquer peaks or design a formula for success. I am here to do a job. I need to work."

"I like to work and I am fortunate that there are some that consider me for work. In time, nature shall diminish me and my body. But until it does so, I wish to continue! You got a problem with that?'

The 78-year-old actor had written on his official blog that 'the best is being done' and quipped that he be excused for any typing errors.

'Eye surgeries at this age are delicate and need precision handling. The best is being done and one hopes all shall be well. The sight and the recovery is slow and difficult so if there are typing errors they are to be excused,' Bachchan wrote.

In the long blog post, the actor compared his situation to that of West Indies great Gary Sobers and recalled an incident he had heard about the former cricketer.

Bachchan said while he was unsure if the story was 'authentic', his current struggle with typing resembled one of Sobers' innings where he batted to save his team, drunk.

'At a cricket match with a strong opponent, WI was not in a very good position and looked to lose the game. Gary Sobers, sitting in the dressing room and seeing the eventual, opened up his bottle of rum and had a few. When his turn to bat came he went out and scored his fastest hundred.

'When asked how did he do it, he said, 'when I went out I was seeing three balls, I was hitting the middle one.'

'My eye condition is somewhat similar. I am seeing three letters for each word and hitting the middle button,' Bachchan joked.

On a serious note, the screen icon said he may have to get a surgery in the other eye.

Bachchan hoped he would recover before he starts shooting for his next.

'My love to all. Progress is slow and there is yet another eye to go so its a long haul, hoping of course that it all gets well in time for my schedule which begins in a few. The new film with Vikas Bahl, tentatively titled 'Good Bye',' he wrote.

Bachchan, who had on Saturday written about a medical condition that required surgery, said he is spending his days with 'nothing to do' as he cannot read, write and see because of the surgery.

'So just sitting there in oblivion, eyes shut most of the time and attempted listening to music, which is not a very convincing pastime unless, of course, it is being created. But that too is out of bounds for the moment.'

Bachchan wrote he was overwhelmed with the love and support which came his way after he opened up about the medical condition on Saturday.

Calling it an 'emotional moment', Bachchan wrote, 'I never expect it and when it comes, it's overwhelming. Thank you, deeply touched.

'What would I ever do without the love and affection I get from this grateful caring and loving family?'

Additional inputs: PTI