I do not wish to stagnate: Abhishek Bachchan
March 31, 2011
by Deval Rai
Two releases lined up in a month especially after a drought period of releases is a good thing for an actor. But Abhishek Bachchan is someone who does not get easily satisfied with his performances for fear of becoming complacent and stagnant. He plays a drug lord in murder mystery Game and a cop in Dum Maaro Dum. While his cop act is generating excitement, appearing to be very much like Amitabh in Zanjeer, it is the murder mystery that excites Abhishek more. It is a genre that he’s never done before but loves it immensely courtesy his inspiration, Sherlock Holmes. We chat up with Bachchan Junior about his forthcoming whodunit film Game and his production film after Paa, Bbuddah-Hoga Tera Baap.
What attracted you to Game?
It is actually the genre of the film Game that attracted me - the genre is one of my favourites - a murder mystery, a whodunit! And I hadn't done one yet. I was very intrigued about doing it, and very happy to do it. I’m a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes.
How do you select the films you do? Is there a pattern?
I never sat down and said that 'Okay! This decade I did this, and in the coming decade, I want to do that'. I think you just have to follow your heart...do the films that inspire you, do the films that you automatically take a liking to. I think that's the best policy to have. I like the fact that you do a film because you are passionate about it and you just want to see where that ride takes you.
Your earlier production Paa was a great success, what are you producing next?
Well, we started the schedule of my second production Bbuddah-Hoga Terra Baap about two weeks ago. The shooting should be finished by the end of next month. Of course we are hoping good things happen to it too.
What is your judgment of yourself as an actor?
I still haven't performed even in one film of mine yet, which I can see and say – ‘Okay! I have done a good job.’
What is it that keeps an actor going?
It is very important for every actor to keep learning and improving every day. You need to keep pushing the bar every day. If you don't, you start becoming complacent. I would actually hate to see a film and then say...'Oh yeah! I did a great job', because somewhere at the back of my head, I will become lazy and complacent about my craft and that will be the death of creativity. It doesn't make sense to keep doing the same thing and then stagnate. So I think it is very important to keep yourself motivated. And as I said, I have high standards. I want to be performing at a level which I think I haven't achieved.