London, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, who was honoured with a Bafta interview on Friday, said he has dedicated his life and work to his parents and gets the maximum satisfaction from getting their approval of his work.

Abhishek is in London to take part in the Tongues of Fire Festival, which honoured his mother, actress Jaya Bachchan, with a lifetime achievement award at a gala dinner on Friday night. The whole Bachchan family was in attendance on Friday with Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwariya Rai Bachchan applauding their spouses in the audience.
“I am a proud son,” Abhishek said, reacting to the honour bestowed on his mother. Describing his mother’s acting as one of the cornerstones of the Hindi film industry, he said, “We are very thankful as a family for this honour.”
The festival, which started on Friday, is also holding a retrospective of Jaya Bachchan films and will screen some films from Abhishek Bachchan’s career. Abhishek, who was honoured with a Bafta interview, also held an acting masterclass on Saturday morning. The festival will also honour director Shyam Benegal with a Bafta interview on Sunday morning and screen his latest film, Well Done Abba.
Abhishek has also agreed to become a patron of the Tongues of Fire Festival, which is holding its 12th film festival this year.
It’s time that people respect and understand the Bollywood genre, which is a different style of cinema, Lady Kishwar Desai, who is chairperson of the board of directors, said. “We are also trying to create an understanding of the Indian cinema, beyond the stereotype, with this festival. It’s not just song and dance, it is a lot of hard work and we want the British audiences to understand that,” Lady Desai, who is chairperson of the board of directors, said.
The festival will also host premieres of Lovesongs, directed by Jayabrato Chatterjee; Life Goes On, starring mother-daughter duo Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan, directed by British Indian director Sangeeta Datta. ABritish Asian film, Glasgow-based An Act of Terror, will be screened too.
A highlight of the festival is Playing the Taar, the first feature-length film by 26-year-old Afghan female director, Roya Sadat.

AGE CORRESPONDENT