Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she would have conferred Bharat Ratna on Amitabh Bachchan if she had the power before prodding the Centre into bestowing the Bollywood superstar with the highest civilian award in the country.

"I call him (Bachchan) Bharat Ratna. If I had the power, I would have given it in a second.... They should have given it to him long back. I demand it (for him) on behalf of the public. I have great respect for him," said Mamata after emerging from Jalsa, the Bachchan home on VL Mehta Road in Juhu, Mumbai.

The Bollywood superstar had received Padma Shri in 1984, Padma Bhushan in 2001 and Padma Vibhushan in 2015.

After landing in Mumbai, the chief minister went straight to Jalsa, where she spent around 90 minutes with the Bachchan family. She told the media, waiting outside the Bachchan home, that the entire family — Amitabh, wife Jaya, son Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya, daughter Shweta Nanda and grand-daughters Aaradhya and Navya Naveli Nanda — was at the residence.

"We had a very nice discussion. We discussed old memories. I love this family... They are the number one family in India and they have a lot of contributions also," said Mamata, who has always shared a special relationship with Bachchan and his wife Jaya.

The chief minister took care to explain the couple's Bengal connection by recalling that the Bollywood superstar had begun his professional career with a British managing agency in Calcutta and recounted Jaya's performance in Bengali comedy film Dhanni Meye.

"I am very happy today... I came to Mumbai so many times, but this is the first time I met this Bharat Ratna (at his home)," said Mamata.

She said she had tied a rakhi on Bachchan on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

"The best thing is I tied rakhi on him on the day of Raksha Bandhan... It's an auspicious day. I tie rakhi on everyone and it's a tradition. I tie rakhi on women also as there should not be any discrimination," she added before giving her wishes to the people of the country.

Mamata said she had invited the Bachchans to Calcutta during the Durga Puja and also the international film festival, to be held later this year. "We hold a very big film festival.... The programme will be incomplete without Amitji's presence. Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, they will also come," she said.