“Make him an offer he can’t refuse,” is an iconic line from an equally iconic book, The Godfather. The same principle probably applies to Amitabh Bachchan – give him an exorbitant amount of money and he wont refuse your offer, even if it involves hosting one of the crassest reality shows on television.

Once a legend, always a legend, they say. But, whether this applies to Amitabh Bachchan, who doesn’t seem to want the title anymore, is doubtful. From endorsing  pens, to chocolates, to digestive tablets, to pretty much everything under the Indian sun, Mr. Bachchan is now back on the small screen in a completely different avatar – as a pop philosopher, and a host, not of a game show but a show that feasts on human emotions like jealousy, anger, hurt, love (or is it lust?), and most importantly betrayal. One can also not help but wonder at the choice of participants in the new season of the Big Boss. From a self-proclaimed sex-goddess, to another self-proclaimed sex-goddess’s mother, a self-proclaimed superstar of C-grade films, to a yesteryear’s beauty queen, to an unknown designer and, to top it all, a legendary wrestler’s frustrated son, whose histrionics would put the tactics of even  participants like Rakhi Sawant and Rahul Mahajan to shame.

According to Bachchan what attracted him to the show was the fact that the concept of the show was quite different and intriguing. How would 13 people – with no outside communication – live in one house for so many days, was a question he wanted to see answered. But, one has to stop and wonder: was it actually the “intriguing concept” of the show, or the lure of an outrageous amount that drove him to host the show? Only he knows the answer to that.

Amitabh’s critics have given up on him long back, and the blind followers will love him no matter what he says, or does. It is people like me – who on an emotional level love him but on the practical level detest his vexing money minting ways – who care.

This is not to say that making money is bad or vexing. Who doesn’t like money pouring in like rain, as long as it is not at the cost of others, or illegally got. It was quite commendable when Amitabh Bachchan hosted the show Kaun Banega Crorepati, and changed the face of Indian television and along with it his floundering businesses and personal finances. The years after that have been particularly kind to him, and he has had got ample opportunity to fill his coffers. So, now, why has he accepted this offer to host a sleazy, shady, so called reality show that involves starlets, drug addicts and C-grade celebrities?

When Shilpa Shetty took up similar offers of  participating in the UK version of the show, Big Brother, and then hosting the Indian version last year, no one was outraged or bothered, because she didn’t have the stature and the standing that Bachchan has (or had?). Is it merely the lure of the money that is a driving concern for even legends like Bachchan, and not their status and grandness? Is it not important for them to have the same kind of respect and reverence that they had earlier? Can you imagine a Marlon Brando or an Al Pacino doing a similar kind of feat?

I don’t think so, do you?