'DIDN'T ENTER THE INDUSTRY JUST TO COAST ALONG'
Actor Abhishek Bachchan says his idea behind becoming an actor was to ‘make a difference’
By now, it’s a known fact that Abhishek Bachchan took a twoyear long sabbatical after Housefull 3 (2016), before he donned the greasepaint again for Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan. Now, the actor is believed to be readying for multiple projects including Gulab Jamun, co-starring wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Pawan Kripalani’s Tantrik and a rumoured web series.
“As an actor, somewhere, there has to be an inherent confidence in your craft. For me, that’s always been there. But I felt everything was becoming too easy and happening too conveniently for me. I wasn’t concentrating as much [on work] as I should have. You know, if you are a part of films in which the majority of the onus and responsibility is not on you but on somebody else, then you are like, ‘okay then, so I can have fun’,” says Abhishek.
So, did he ever feel that his acting style was possibly not fitting seamlessly into the kind of films that are being made now? “No, that wasn’t the case at all,” he says, adding, “I was coasting along absolutely fine, but I didn’t come here [to the film industry] to coast along, but to make a difference. So, it had nothing to do with the craft, but with what my attitude towards work was.”
Even when an actor doesn’t have the responsibility of a film, he/she enjoys all the perks, says Abhishek. “Even in that case, you are getting paid fantastically, those films are becoming huge hits and people are enjoying your work so you keep getting that work. And, you keep revering in all of that, which makes you feel, ‘arrey, yeh toh bada aasaan hai yaar, no problem’. But honestly, there has to be a problem because you have to be conscious. You can’t — almost automatically — just be doing what you are doing, and that’s what my problem was,” says the actor.
Ask him if the success rate of films had anything to with his break and he says: “Before Housefull 3, there were films such as Bol Bachchan (2012) and Happy New Year (2014) which were hits. So, it didn’t have anything to do with [the box office performances of] the films but the way that I was doing those movies. It was a very personal decision and had more to do with my approach [of working in films]. As an actor, I loved working in all those films,” says Abhishek.
As an actor, somewhere, there has to be an inherent confidence in your craft. For me, that’s always been there. But I felt everything was becoming too easy for me and happening too conveniently.
ABHISHEK BACHCHAN, ACTOR