Talking to UNI, Bachchan, with characteristic humility, expressed happiness but said he did not deserve the rating, which has put even comedian Charlie Chaplin, British actor Sir Lawrence Olivier and American actress Marilyn Monroe behind him.

Answering wide-ranging questions, he said he did not feel vindicated by the ratings in the wake of being relentlessly hounded by critics and the media for his wrong choice of roles. ``The media has always been fair to me. It has criticised me when it is due. There has never been adverse criticism about my performance in any of the recent films, which have not done well''.

Asked whether the film industry has been unjust to him, considering the films he has been offered, Bachchan, who has featured in flops like Mrityudaata and Lal Badshah, said it would beunfair to level this charge against the film industry. ``I have worked with the finest directors and talented artistes. I have been projected well. But, the business of films is unpredictable. It is a universal truth that along with success, you have failures'', he added.

Asked what kind of roles he would like to play, Bachchan said, ``I would welcome anything that comes my way provided it suited my age''. He admitted that a memorable performance from him was long overdue. ``However, one cannot predict that a good film will always do well. Even a bad film may do well at the box office and get accolades. It is an ongoing process''.

Bachchan agreed that the Hindi film industry and the audience of the 1990's had undergone a tremendous change from the mid-1970's and '80's, when he ruled supreme. ``Audience tastes change with time which affects society including art and literature''. But what is noticeable is the greater consciousness towards quality and technical finesse. ``If you don't comply with theserequirements, you are rejected by the audience. This is good for the industry'', he said.