There’s just something about Abhishek Bachchan. Whether it’s his nonchalance towards his starry lineage, the grace with which he deals with his failures or his candid pride in his wife’s successes — he’s one of the most endearing, unassuming stars in the industry. When he started out 10 years ago, the Bachchan crown perched
uneasily on his head, he was written off after a spate of flops. He kept his humour and poise intact and a decade on, it’s those same shining facets of a noblesse oblige that now effortlessly handle success.
With hits like Guru and Dostana, Abhishek is now emerging into his own, out of his father’s shadow. He looks back to his debut, in J.P. Dutta’s Refugee, “I debuted in Refugee 10 years ago in June. Ten years later, on June 30, my film Raavan is all set for release. It’s been a great journey, I’ve learnt a lot. When I came into the industry, I knew nothing… I was not prepared. Today when I see Refugee, I feel I could have done it better. I feel I let down J.P. sir but when I tell him this, he scolds me. But, at the same time I realise that there is no success without failure — they go hand in hand. Today I am hungry to learn more and I’m still figuring out my strengths and weaknesses. I love the film industry, I love making movies and now feel like a bigger family has accepted me.”
About Raavan, he says, “This is my third film with Mani Ratnam and my second with my wife. It was a challenging film, physically and mentally. We have scaled waterfalls, slid down them in the rain and the fog. There were times when I was worried for Ash: there were breathtaking stunts throughout the film, but then at the end of the day we were professionals. What was most surprising was, as the men sat under umbrellas we watched Aishwarya doing the stunts herself, non-stop, without a break.”
Aishwarya is a thorough professional, a legend in the making — does it faze her husband? “I don’t compete with my wife. I think she is one of the best actresses in the film industry. Her work speaks for itself. I don’t need to compete with anyone. The only person I must compete with is myself. It is important to improve with each performance. If you haven’t managed to improve upon your last performance, you don’t deserve to be an actor. First do that and then think of competing with other people,” he says philosophically.
The actor has been shooting continuously, hopping from one set to the next: Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum in Goa and Game in Greece. But it’s the life for him, “I always have to be on the move. I get bored easily. It’s probably why I’ve accepted different kinds of roles — Yuva, Guru, Dostana, Delhi-6. It’s also important to be in touch with the child within. I get excited and am passionate about cinema but at the same time, very critical of myself. I’m impatient; the day I don’t want to experiment, get complacent, that will be the end of me. I want to be an actor with the ability to sit back after 500 scripts and then pick one and say this is the one film I want to do.”
And his superstar wife knows him well, “Aishwarya understands this part of me. She never expected me to change and has accepted me as I am. She had been a supportive and encouraging co-star even before marriage. I am proud of her and her accomplishments. There is this strange notion that women can’t work after marriage. Why are we so regressive in our thinking? She deserves it and is a fantastic actress. She is doing better work now and the audience wants to see her.”
And coming soon to a theatre near you, Dostana 2, “where you get to see more of John Abraham’s butt,” he chuckles, quickly adding, “I didn’t want to do the sequel. I always feel that you should let some films be. But Tarun Mansukhani wanted to do it. He has narrated it to me and if you thought Dostana was funny, this is more hilarious. I start shooting next month.” The actor is also looking forward to working with his mother more often now. “I did a guest appearance in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag with her but now I want to do comedy with her. I think it will be mind blowing.”