I’ve broken the mould in my films: Abhishek Bachchan

MUMBAI: The much-awaited Raavan marks 10 years in the Hindi film industry for Abhishek Bachchan, who describes his journey of highs and lows as a fulfilling experience. He says he has “broken the mould” in all his movies and is hungry for more.

“I’ll complete 10 years in the industry with Raavan. I’ve learnt a lot in these years. I didn’t know anything at that time. There has been tremendous learning and I’m still hungry to do a lot more. It’s been a great journey and it makes me happy and proud that I’m part of this industry,” Abhishek told IANS in an exclusive interview.

The 34-year-old, who debuted with J P Dutta’s Refugee in 2000, says failures have played an important role in his growth.

“The low phase that I went through, I think it was necessary. It teaches you a lot. I believe there is no success without failure. It keeps you grounded and makes you appreciate things,” said Abhishek who gave a string of flops before Dhoom became a hit.

After Dhoom, Abhishek played all kinds of roles in box office successes like Yuva, Bunty Aur Babli, Bluffmaster, Dostana, Delhi-6 and Paa among others.

“Thankfully I’ve managed to break the mould with all my films. I’ve broken the mould in Raavan too from my last performance in Paa where I played a clean-cut politician,” he said.

Filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s Raavan is slated to release on June 18.

The bilingual film, co-produced by Reliance BIG Pictures and Madras Talkies, features Aishwarya Rai as a dance teacher who is happily married to a cop, played by Tamil superstar Vikram, and shows how Abhishek’s character Beera spoils that tranquillity in their lives.

Commenting on his role, Abhishek said, “It’s very exciting to get roles where you can push yourself and challenge yourself to do a role you have not attempted before. I’m happy that I’m doing different roles, I’d be really bored if I had to do the same thing every day.”

Ratnam had given Abhishek two of his memorable roles in Yuva and Guru. Raavan is their third outing together.

The actor shares a great comfort level with the director who understands him and his potential very well.

“I share a great comfort level with Mani. As far as I’m concerned, I can do anything for him. I also feel that Mani understands me and my potential as an actor more than even I do. I think that’s one major reason that two of the most memorable films I have done have been with Mani,” he said.

“Raavan is a wonderful film and I’m very proud of it. I feel this is Mani’s most commercial film till date. I’m happy with the way it’s turned out. Mani has outdone himself. It is drastically different from his other films, which is a challenge, especially when the same team comes together.”

The actor was also offered the Tamil version of the film, but he declined due to the language problem.

“I was offered a role in the Tamil version as well. I had said yes initially, but when I read the draft, I realised this is not happening. I told Mani that I can’t do the Tamil version because I don’t know the language.”

“I realised that my performance will become very mechanical. If you don’t understand what you are saying, you can’t give a good performance,” he said.

After Raavan, many other big-budget films, including Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, Game, Dum Maro Dum and Dostana 2 will keep Abhishek busy for a year.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 14th, 2010.