Amitabh Bachchan shares treasured letter from Dilip Kumar on Twitter

After threatening to quit the platform, actor Amitabh Bachchan has returned to posting and retweeting from his nearly 33 million Twitter followers.

He wished his Kabhi Kabhie (1976) co-star Waheeda Rehman on her 80th birthday on 3 February, and the next day, he celebrated the 13th anniversary of Black (2005), co-starring Rani Mukerji.

He also shared a letter written to him nearly a decade ago by his idol, actor Dilip Kumar, regarding his performances in Black (2005) and Paa (2009).

“13 Years of BLACK.. and the greatest compliment from my idol Dilip Saheb, Dilip Kumar - Yusuf Khan ! The history of the Indian Film Industry shall always be referred to as '..before Dilip Kumar; and after Dilip Kumar..,' Bachchan wrote.

In the letter, the thespian wrote of his admiration for Bachchan and praised him for the dedication he has shown to acting over the years. Dilip Kumar was also reciprocating to Bachchan’s praise of him in his blog 'Bachchan Bol'.

“As you yourself would be keenly aware, we actors are completely oblivious of ourselves and our surroundings while we perform and, even when we watch our work in the rushes shown to us, our senses and vision are trained to detect shortcomings more than accomplishments. That's the only way we know to improve and render performances that come close to our own satisfaction. And it is always the audience who have the absolute right to acclaim or reject our work, however hard we may have worked to achieve perfection and excellence,” Dilip wrote in the letter.

He also recalled the times they worked together on Shakti (1982), writing, “I should say the respect and admiration are mutual. Not just Shakti, your work in several films I have watched has been world class and inimitable.”

Finally, he praised Bachchan for his work in Black (2005) and Paa (2009), while stating he couldn’t watch the latter as it would have been too emotional for his wife, former actress Saira Banu.

“In recent times I can remember Black, and if I remember right, Saira and I were at a loss for words at the premiere night, after the curtain came down, to express our myriad feelings of admiration for your outstanding performance. It is a pity the film missed the Oscar nomination. If any Indian actor, in my personal opinion, deserves the world's most coveted award, it is you. I have heard so much about Paa which we didn't catch up with. You know how Saira is - she could never see me die in my films and she could not muster the courage to see your death scene in Paa,” Dilip wrote.

In Black, Bachchan played teacher Debraj Sahai who transforms the life of a blind and deaf young girl Michelle (Rani Mukerji).

The veteran won his second National Award for Best Actor for his performance.

His first was for Agneepath (1990) and others were for Paa (2009) and Piku (2015). At the Filmfare Awards in 2005, Bachchan won both the Best Actor trophy and the Critics’ Award for Best Actor for his work in Black.