Bollywood Bakwas

Amitabh Bachchan is ready with a slew of films aimed at the young.

If 2007 was the Big B's adult year with Nishabd, Cheeni Kum and Aag, 2008 promises to be the superstar's year for kids.

While Junior Bachchan plays a super-hero in Drona, the senior plays a genie in Alladin. Both films will be released at around the same time.

Big B is getting ready to unleash three flicks aimed predominantly at kids.

Apart from Alladin, there is Ravi Chopra's Bhootnath and Rumi Jaffrey's God, Tussi Great Ho where he plays a ghost and God, respectively.

"Maybe this is the producers' way of telling me it's time for me to move upstairs," Bachchan suggests with ghoulish humour.

"Shooting Alladin is fun. I get to sing as many as three songs, dance and whoop it up. I play the genie more as a modern dude than a costumed anachronism."

Obviously kids are going to love Uncle Amit in this unseen avatar. And that's precisely what director Sujoy Ghosh is aiming to achieve.

"Alladin would probably be Mr Bachchan's first full-fledged film for kids. And he is the biggest kid on the sets. We have so much fun shooting the film.

I want to make at least 25 more films with him. Grown-ups are welcome. But my film is designed as Mr Bachchan's gift to his young fans," says Ghosh.