'In these times of vitiated politics, we miss people like Advaniji and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in active politics more than ever.'
"Advaniji is not just a stalwart of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has given his life to the country," Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha tells Subhash K Jha about the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani.
As your mentor L K Advani turns 98, what are your thoughts?
That he must live forever. He must attain immortality.
In these times of vitiated politics, we miss people like Advaniji and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in active politics more than ever.
But Advaniji is much more than a politician.
He is a true artiste, a connossieur of the arts, he loves cinema and Amitabh Bachchan.
Not Shatrughan Sinha?
(Laughs) I would like to think he loves me more. Lekin jahan tak sawaal hai filmon ka, unko Bachchan zyada pasand hai.
You have learnt a lot from Advaniji the politician and the human being.
That's because he doesn't separate the two: His values as a human being extended to his political beliefs.
Advani saab belongs to the old school of ideology-based leadership.
Unke nazariye mein compromise naam ki cheez nahin hai.
Such leaders are not just rare, they are extinct.
You hero-worship Advaniji.
I hero-worship Advaniji, Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji and Jayaprakash Narayanji.
These are the leaders who shaped my attitude to life and politics.
Advaniji is not just a stalwart of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has given his life to the country.
He is a statesman and leader of national stature respected by all regardless of party lines and political allegiances.
Is Advaniji even now a movie buff?
He used to be an avid movie watcher, the first-day-first-show.
He is very proud of the fact that he has seen the earliest hit Achhut Kanya starring Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani.
That goes back a long way to even when talkies films had not started. Do you know he was even a movie critic for a while?
His daughter Pratibha is a huge support to him.
I've not seen a more devoted daughter. She has looked after her father with a singleminded devotion for decades.
Aisi aulad Bhagwan sabko de.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff