Amitabh Bachchan he often drops his opinions on X and his blogs, but cryptically. Many times, he is also seen restraining himself from expressing his thoughts. Bachchan’s announcement recently sparked speculation with a post saying, “I wanted to say something but I thought NO!! Don’t say it.While the actor didn’t elaborate, the message sparked a wide-ranging discussion on the Internet. Paresh Rawal has now reflected on Bachchan’s state of mind and what could be the reason why he is holding back from voicing his opinions many times.“People are afraid. They fear harassment from those in authority. Earlier, some people spoke unapologetically. If you notice, the number of such people has also reduced over time,” Rawal said in an interview with Vickey Lalwani. He then reflected on Amitabh Bachchan’s political journey and the challenges the veteran actor has faced over the years. He added, “What will he do at this age? He has seen how people tore him apart after the VP Singh episode. If power comes after you, it can ruin your life. We don’t know everything that happened. He suffered a lot. Amitabh is not someone who believes in conflict. He prefers peace. He folds his hands and ends the argument right there. We fight like toxicity. or negativity around him.”During the same interview, Rawal also spoke about his own political career and clarified that his time as an MP did not limit his acting duties, contrary to popular belief. Rawal entered politics in 2014 as BJP MP from Ahmedabad East. After serving one term, he chose not to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. During those years, his film appearances became less frequent, leading many to believe that politics had affected his acting career.However, Rawal rejected this assumption. He said, “Politics never played a role in the small number of films I did. The number was reduced because I refused to do them. I’m using the word ‘rejected’ and not ‘rejected’. Many times, I just didn’t find merit in the scripts or the stories.” He further explained that balancing Parliament and films was never a challenge.“Even though I was a politician, I had enough time to make films. Parliament works about 110 days a year. I still had about 265 days to myself. I had even cut back on my theater shows.” Rawal also reviewed the circumstances surrounding ‘102 Not Out’, revealing that he had originally been cast in the role he eventually played. Rishi Kapoor.The film, directed by Umesh Shukla and starring Amitabh Bachchan, was delayed before going on floors. While reports at the time suggested that Rawal walked out due to his parliamentary commitments, the actor claimed that was not the real reason.“In 102 Not Out, I was supposed to play the role that Rishi Kapoor eventually did. I was associated with the project for two or three years. Then, suddenly, I was out. I asked. Umesh what happened, and he told me that someone had refused to work with me. He never named that person. I still don’t know exactly why I was dismissed, but I can tell you it had nothing to do with my political stage.”Asked if he ever tried to find out who was responsible for his exit, Rawal said he decided not to press the issue out of respect for director Umesh Shukla.“I didn’t pursue it because Umesh is a friend. I asked him once, I understood there were problems, and I didn’t want to embarrass him. I could have dug up the truth. I was the victim in that situation. I know who wanted me out, but I don’t want to say it publicly. I even confronted that person, but he refused. I prefer to call them directly instead of speculating.“