Mumbai Mirror

March 8: Following in her father's footsteps, the most private member of the Bachchan family has finally come into her own. Soft-spoken, articulate and, according to father Amitabh Bachcan, the wisest of the Bachchans, Shweta is  happy with what she sees of herself  as the anchor of the NDTV show NextGen. She says, "I saw myself  in  the first episode on Tuesday. I guess I was okay. There are, of course, hundreds of things that I could've done better. I'd say, I barely passed muster in the first episode. There is lots of room for improvement."

Everyone is putting Shweta under the microscope. She says, "I know it's a huge responsibility. Even if  I don't do well on  the show I am okay as long as I don't do anything to upset or embarrass  my family, or take away from anything they've achieved. My family has built up a reputation for itself, and I wouldn't want to besmirch that in any way. In that sense TV anchoring is very safe. It may be uninteresting or uninspiring. But it can't get any worse than that."

It comes as a surprise to know she's even scripting the episodes of NextGen. Strangely Shweta never thought of being an actor. She says, "I don't have what it takes. I've neither the face nor the voice.  And besides I didn't have   the temperament for it. I wouldn't be able to devote such a large chunk of  my time to one thing. You know being an actress is a calling. And it wasn't my calling.  y main calling in life is to be a mother. And if the TV show doesn't work out, I'd be very happy to go back to where I came back."

Shweta is mercurial by nature.  She says, "Like everything else in my life, TV is not something I had   planned. It just happened. I got an offer from   NDTV and I put it across to my father and mother. They were very encouraging, as long as I was comfortable with it.  I think I'll enjoy this TV stint. My kids are older, and I've    lots of free time to give to other activities. I've been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years.  I've given them all my time. So when this offer came to me I thought, why not?"

Naturally mom Jaya was deeply concerned when Shweta decided to take the plunge into television. Says Shweta, "I'm her child, and this is a first for me. Her reactions were all emotional. But as I grow habituated  to  the medium I'm sure she'll be less tense about my new vocation.  But she did advise me to just be my natural self on camera, no matter what others say."

Lately Shweta has also been seen on the ramp. One would think coming into the limelight has been a conscious decision for Shweta.  "No!" she refutes. "Most of my decisions in life have been emotional. I've always been devoted to family and friends. There has never been a career plan. Nor did I plan the ramp walk or the TV stint as a stepping stone. Everything has happened spontaneously in my life. I've never planned anything, and I won't plan it either."

Shweta is doing her best to balance her home with her new career. "The entire format revolves around me. While my schedules so far revolved around my kids I'm now doing a balancing act.  At the moment it does seem a little bit  of a  rush  because I never had to take out so much time  for  anything  but my home . It's just 12 episodes right now. Let's see how it goes. I certainly don't feel pushed to a corner. I'm quite easy and convenient."

About taking on more work, she says, "I'll have to see. I'll take further decisions on a TV career, of course taking my family into confidence. Right now I'm nervous about Next Gen. Would you believe, I've been so busy with the show  I  haven't even had  time to see Nishabd. It's a difficult role for my dad. A lot of people wouldn't have done it at his age."