Mumbai, March 13 (AP): Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan says it will be a challenge to play a Shakespearian actor in a new Bollywood movie.

``My character has to contend with going from theatre to cinema,'' Bachchan said in an interview published by The Times of India on Tuesday.

Filming of the movie, tentatively titled ``Curtain Call,'' begins later this week in Kolkata with noted Indian director Rituparno Ghosh at the helm.

Bachchan, 64, has a massive following among South Asians and has acted in nearly 160 movies in a career spanning three decades. He also has theater experience, playing King Lear on stage.

``Theater actors feel cinema to be a compromise,'' he said.

``Not every actor has the guts and guile to do both,'' he said. ``I like the subject. There has constantly been friendly friction between theater and cinema.''

Some well-known Indian actors, such as Naseeruddin Shah and Paresh Rawal, have been able to bridge the gap, he said.