Experiments with TRUTH

Abhishek Bachchan on hits and misses and his desire to push the envelope.

Abhishek Bachchan on hits and misses and his desire to push the envelope.

It was probably the success of Jodhaa Akbar and Lagaan that prompted Abhishek Bachchan to be a part of Ashutosh Gowarikers Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. Otherwise,films on freedom fighters have had a bad run in India except for Richard Attenboroughs Gandhi,which got critical acclaim as well as box-office success. Abhishek argues that he never signs a film keeping in mind its likely fate at the box-office. No actor can predict the fate of a film. I did Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey because the script was inspiring. I thought it was a dramatic and entertaining story that needs to be told with a new perspective, says Abhishek,who,finding the character of Surjya Sen interesting,extolls,It was intriguing to know the kind of person he was,carrying a book in one hand and a rifle in the other a charismatic personality. That Ashutosh Gowariker was directing it made him more than happy to recreate Surjyada on screen.

Unfortunately,the film has been tepid fare at the b-o. For Abhishek who is yet to shake-off Raavans failure,this could have been yet another setback. But just like his character Surjyada,who remained calm even in dire circumstances,Abhisheks taking this in his stride. Today,I have got many people walking up to me and sharing that they discovered an unknown chapter of Indias freedom struggle and that they were feeling patriotic after watching the film. I am very happy that I have got a chance to reacquaint Surjyada to audiences, he maintains. Whats more,the actor relishes the experience of working with the teenagers who form an integral part of the film. It was refreshing to watch them. I observed and learnt a lot from them. You get used to a style of performing and tend to be very aware of the things that are going around. But these first-time actors were performing with a certain abandon and spontaneity,which I tried to emulate, he says modestly.

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Abhishek has a lot to look forward to next year with commercial films like Game,a whodunit,and Dum Maro Dum,wherein he plays a cop. He recently shot for Abbas-Mustans The Players,a remake of The Italian Job and will be revisiting comedy with Hera Pheri 4 and Dostana 2. His kitty is brimming with a mix of action and comedy. Is that the way forward then? Theres no such thing as commercial or experimental films. There are only good or bad films. If youve looked at my career,I have always done varied roles,as I need to push my craft creatively, says Abhishek,who firmly believes that a films box-office performance has nothing to do with how the audience reacts to a stars next release. The audience comes in if the promos excite them. I would like to believe that they come without any pre-conceived notions. We have had examples of stars giving the biggest hits and their next releases not getting an opening, he points out.

Everything,according to him,depends on the film. Analysing the failure of Raavan,Abhishek reckons that the audience did not connect with his character Beera. Maybe the emotional hook should have been introduced much earlier. The whole thing about his sister being kidnapped,raped and her committing suicide should have been shown in the first half itself. But you realise why Beera kidnaps Raagini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) only in the third act.

Talking about his wife Aishwarya,who had four releases this year,Abhishek picks up Guzaarish and Robot as her best. Guzaarish is one of Aishwaryas finest performancess. She has lent restraint and dignity to Sophias character,while Robot was simply fantastic, he says appreciatively.

As to his new role as a producer,after winning the National Award for Paa,Abhishek is busy with the pre-production of a Hindi film that is being directed by South director Puri Jagannath and will have his father Amitabh Bachchan playing the lead. He is also in the process of finalising two Marathi and one Gujarati scripts.

Obviously,Abhishek has moved on.