|
 Abhishek Bachan tells Jyothi
tells Venkatesh that Drona failed to click at the box office because
its screenplay was its undoing and also adds that he and Ash have no
plans to have a baby as of now.
The film has not taken the box office by storm but when I meet him for
this interview at his office in the bungalow Janak, Abhishek tells me
that what appealed to him when he was offered the film Delhi 6 was the
fact that though Roshan is an American by mind, he is an Indian by
heart.
"It was not at all tough for me to get into the character of
Roshan, because I could easily connect to it, since I could understand
him, having spent twelve years abroad in a different culture. I could
relate to the character because like Roshan, I too had learnt abroad
and know how it is to feel like an outsider, though born and brought up
in a hard core Indian family, steeped in the culture of the ancestors".
Abhishek had almost lost the opportunity to act in Delhi 6. "When
Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra gave me the script to read it, frankly I did
not know whether he wanted me to be a part of the film because in the
past too he had given me the script of his films. I was happy when he
said that he wanted to cast me in Delhi 6, though I could not adjust my
dates for the shooting since he wanted to shoot in the winter in Delhi
though I had committed those dates to Mani Ratnam for Guru. Rakeysh
asked me whether I would mind if he goes ahead with the film with some
other actor and reluctantly I had agreed too. I think I was destined
for the role of Roshan because came back to me, after tweaking the
script after a year".
Earlier, Abhishek had flatly declined to be part fo his film Rang de
Basanti. "When he came to me with the script of Rang De Basanti, I
could not understand it at all. To add to my confusion, he had then
decided to call his film not Rang De Basanti but Paint It Yellow. I
could not fathom how he could show Bhagat Singh in contemporary setting
and said no to be part of the film and after I said no to it, he
approached Aamir Khan. The rest is history."
Even after Rakeysh had finalized Aamir for Rang De Basanti, he came to
him once again to offer the role of Siddharth in Rang De Basanti when
Arjun Rampal walked out. However, Abhishek says that he told him that
he could not be a part of the film because he could not understand the
subject at all. Laughs Abhishek, "I told him that I was not as
intelligent as Aamir Khan is. The role then went to Siddharth".
Abhishek admits that though Drona was only two hours and ten minutes
long, thanks to its screenplay, people felt it was too long. "As an
actor, I feel you have to be immune to both hits and flops. You work
hard in every film and naturally want it to click, because there is an
emotional 'connect' to the actors with their films".
Abhishek is of the opinion that his life has not changed after marriage
in any way, because now he has a wife like Ash who he considers to be
his best friend. Abhishjek denies that it is a conscious decision on
his part to do most of his films with Ash. ". It is petty to think that
I maneuver to have Ash in every film of mine. I do not decide who
should be cast in a film as my leading lady. I do not insist that Ash
should be my leading lady. I did two films last year after marriage and
Ash was not there in them at all. Ash was not there in Delhi 6 with me.
Mani wanted her in his film which has a working title like Ravana and
Abhinav Deo was keen that she should be a part of his film."
Abhishek confesses shyly that he and Ash have still not thought about
an addition to their family. "We feel that a child is God's gift and
frankly have not planned about having a child as of now because both of
us are quiet busy with work. As and when we do have a child, what is of
primary importance is that we should have a healthy child and it is
immaterial whether we have a son or a daughter".
Abhishek's next releases will be Balki's Pa in which he has been cast
with his dad, Mani's film, in which his co-actors are Vikram, Ash and
Ravi Kishen and Rajeev Menon's next film, which has been inspired by
his parents' film Abhimaan.
Sampurn Media
|
