YOU'RE MEANT TO FEEL THE PRESSURE

‘Complacency in his work’ made his twoyear break from films necessary, says Abhishek Bachchan

Actor Abhishek Bachchan, who is a making a comeback of sorts to films with Manmarziyaan, feels that the two-year break was scary. He asserts that he had reached a “complacency point in his career”, which necessitated the break, but he did fear being forgotten after it ended.

“It is not just about this industry, life in general. It is about being out of sight, out of mind. Initially it was a thought that I had, but I was very confident that it would not become an issue,” says Abhishek. The actor, best known for his performances in Yuva (2004), Guru (2007), and the Dhoom franchise, reasons that feeling stuck was a bigger fear than being forgotten. “I wanted to re-evaluate where I was in life, wanted to reenergise myself. There was a definite complacency that had come into my work. I wanted to change that,” he says.

It wasn’t the films he was doing, but how he was doing them, that was bothering him, shares the 42-year-old. “I’ve worked very hard and loved all the films that I have done, but I felt my personal approach needed to change,” he shares.

Except for the 2015 film All is Well, which failed at the box office, Abhishek has mostly featured as part of films with an ensemble cast in the recent years — Players (2012), Dhoom 3 (2013), Happy New Year (2014), and Housefull (2016). Was his viability as a hero under question? “Films like Happy New Year (2014) and Housefull 3 were enormous hits. But you’ve to go beyond that. It was more of a personal decision than a commercial one,” he explains. “In all these films, when you feel the onus of the film is not on you, you feel liberated and it becomes very easy. But your job is not meant to be easy, it is meant to be tough and you are meant to feel and take the pressure,” adds the Sarkar (2005) actor.

The break had Abhishek focusing on his football and kabaddi teams. “I’ve been a sportsman all my life. Having my football and kabbadi teams has helped me so much. The two years when I was not making films, I was concentrating on supporting my teams and setting them up. It is very rewarding,” he says.

When he looks back at his career, Abhishek says that he realises a lot that he could have done better. “When you see what you have done in the past, you figure out a better way and that is good as it means you are evolving as an actor,” he says.

PHOTO: SUBI SAMUEL Abhishek Bachchan’s last major film, All is Well came out in 2015 and he returns with Manmarziyaan