Having spent two decades in the industry, Abhishek Bachchan still gets anxious before his film’s release

It has been over a year since the Covid-19 crisis hit India, and thus began the rise of online streaming platforms. With theatres shut for most part of the last year, and even now, many films meant for a theatrical release took the OTT route. Abhishek Bachchan had not one, but two of his films — Ludo and The Big Bull — released digitally. The best thing about such releases, says the actor, is the fact that the hype around numbers doesn’t take place as is the case with big screen releases.

“Earlier, traditionally, the film’s trailer would come out six to eight weeks prior to its release; now we get a shorter window. By the time the film is out, as an actor, the excitement goes out of the window because of all the nervousness around initial reactions to the film,” he says and quips, “But, I have to admit that on a scale of one to 100, if theatrical is a 100, with films coming out on streaming platforms directly, nervousness level is at around 98.”

The 45-year-old notes how in case of theatres, the opening day and weekend collections, and this whole number game at the box-office consumes an actor.

“But in case of the web, they don’t release this kind of info. So, it’s a sustained release. There’s no pressure to watch it first day first show, it’s going to be available. That’s the only thing slightly lesser — the pressure to meet opening day figures. Rest of it is pretty much still the same,” he explains.

Having spent two decades in the film industry and played a variety of roles on screen, Bachchan admits that even today, he gets anxious before the release of films.

He reasons, “At times, there are months and years of collective hard work and sacrifice that go into making a film.

And suddenly, the product is not going to be yours anymore. You hand it over to the audience.”

Last year his web debut, Breathe: Into The Shadows and then Ludo, were received well by viewers. This year, The Big Bull, opened to mixed reviews and Bachchan is happy. He directs all the praise towards the film’s co-producer, Ajay Devgn. “He has my best intentions in mind. I have an immense responsibility towards him. I was so lucky, it was a wonderful script and actors would give an arm and a leg for a role like this,” he says.