Mumbai: Abhishek Bachchan has always battled comparisons with his father, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan. Abhishek Bachchan made his debut in 2000 with Refugee. He said only the acceptance of the audience can help an actor sustain a long-time career.
“The fact is he has never picked up the phone on anyone. He has never made a film for me. On the contrary, I have produced a film for him, called Paa. So he has never helped me out” Abhishek said, when asked on the subject of nepotism.
“People have to understand that it’s a business. After the first film, if they don’t see anything in you, or that film doesn’t do the numbers, you aren’t going to get your next job. That’s the harsh reality of life,” Abhishek informed.
Abhishek also said that he has a fair idea of how the film industry works. “I know when my films don’t do well. I know of the films I was replaced from. I know of the films that could not get made – that started and didn’t have the budgets. This is because I was not bankable at that point. Here you have Mr Amitabh Bachchan’s son. Oh, he is born with a silver spoon,” the actor noted, with a laugh.
Abhishek was seen in the web series Breath 2 earlier this year, and is now gearing up for his next release, Ludo.
In the upcoming film directed by Anurag Basu, he plays a criminal. “Anurag is an instinctive director who does not want something that’s studied. As an actor that’s the scary thing to do — to take that leap of faith,” Abhishek stated.
Asked if he has a dream role, Abhishek had a prompt answer. “Shah Rukh (Khan) told me something before I became an actor. He said ‘Always remember, your favourite role should be the one you are doing at that point. If it’s not, why are you doing it’,” Abhishek stated.
Ludo is a dark comedy anthology also starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Pankaj Tripathi. It is scheduled to release on Netflix, November 12.