People calling India land of rapes embarrassing: Amitabh Bachchan

New Delhi: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he feels embarrassed when he goes abroad and people there call India, the land of rapes. The actor, who is essaying the role of a lawyer in his latest release "Pink," said Indians should work together to make the country a first world nation.

"It's very embarrassing when we visit abroad and people there say, 'You are from India, the land of rapes'. I want that to go. I don't like it when people call us a third world country or developing country.

"We all must work to make India a first world nation, a developed country," Bachchan said at a press conference of the film. The "Piku" star said each part of the country should be safe for women.

"We should not say that Mumbai is safer than Delhi or vice versa. We are a country and women should be safe in every part. If an incident occurs in Delhi the whole nation feels bad and gets worried. The issue is about the whole nation or universal."

Produced by Shoojit Sircar and directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, "Pink" also stars Taapsee Pannu, Kriti Kulhari, Angad Bedi, Andrea Tariang and Piyush Mishra.

One of the most prominent scenes in the movie has Bachchan asking Taapsee's character if she is a virgin or not? Asked about the discrimination girls face about their sexuality, Bachchan said, "If girls are asked about their virginity, then boys should also be questioned. There should be no discrimination.

"If a girl is asked there is always a question mark, as if it is something very wrong, but when it comes to boys, there is an exclamation mark denoting that they have done something great."

The veteran actor believes that the issue raised in the film has been a talking point for many years.

"What the film is saying has been a point of discussion for the longest time in our society. We all think about it and the makers have presented it in the form of cinema. We make our films depending on the changes and developments in the society. And the topic raised in the film is already a part of discussion in society," he said.

Bachchan has some hard-hitting dialogues in the film and he is proud of the way the writers worked on his lines. "I am really proud to be a part of the film. And every dialogue I have said in the film, if asked to say off camera I will say the same words without even thinking once. I mean them." 

Bachchan said for him, his kids --Abhishek and Shweta --are equal and rather than mending the behaviour of girls it is important for the family to teach their boys to respect women.

"I have always treated my son and daughter equally. And whatever little I have managed to achieve in my life... I will divide it equally between them when I leave. "I always believe that to bring change in the society, it is important to change the upbringing. Boys should be taught to respect women. The letter I wrote was in respect of the film so it was for girls. I think now it's Jaya's turn to write a letter to boys."

While shooting for the film the whole cast including Bachchan went through an emotional turmoil. The actor revealed that there came a time when he could not hold himself and had to leave the set.

"There were moments in the film when we all broke down. I am 74 and I am not shy to say that I felt emotional during the filming. There was a sequence when I just couldn't control my tears and had to leave the set as I didn't want to cry in front of three young ladies. "No one of us have used glycerin to cry. When you are performing something which you believe in strongly, the emotions come automatically," he said.