India's new screen prince hopes to step out of the shadow of his famous parents. P. Ramakrishnan meets the subcontinent's rising star, Abhishek Bachchan.
Following in their legendary footsteps is Abhishek who, by his own admission, is yet to attain the box-office clout his father possesses, but finally appears to be on his way with the success of his new film, Kuch Na Kaho (Don't Say Anything). The pressure to succeed is apparent when he talks about some of his less glorious forays.
"I cannot sleep the whole week just before my film's about to release," he admits. "Each film is like a baby that you work on, a labour of love that you spend a year of your life on, and if the audience rejects it, it definitely hurts. The audience is never wrong, I don't question that. A good film runs, a bad one doesn't. To me it's that simple. When a film flops, I sit and analyse what happened. I've got seven films due for release this year and next - there's no sleep in the near future for me."
Fresh from the recent success of Kuch Na Kaho, Abhishek appears at ease at Hong Kong's Holiday Inn this week, an hour after landing at Chek Lap Kok. Like his father, he's tall, has a rich baritone and an ease in front and behind the camera that underscores his movie-star genes, inherited and honed. He is very much the star: dark and handsome but without the postcard prettiness of a model. His vintage charm and decorum fits him as perfectly as his designer suit.
Abhishek was in town to collect an award on behalf of his father and to appear as chief guest at the Miss India Hong Kong pageant on Tuesday evening. When his father unexpectedly turned up at the pageant at the Intercontinental Hotel, there was near pandemonium. "Dad's here," he said, nodding almost imperceptibly while breaking into a toothy grin. He then strolled across to greet his father and the guests parted like an ocean, only to engulf and swallow them up. Stepping from the shadow of the man he calls his "biggest critic" clearly isn't going to be easy.
"Being in the same profession, they cannot be fooled by a lazy actor and point out my flaws as honestly as they can," Abhishek says of his parents. "Rohan [Sippy, director of the film] and I have been childhood friends and we worked very hard on this film. Our fathers have created legendary cinema together but we tried not to think about that when we were making the film. We would have collapsed under the pressure otherwise."
It's about all he's willing to say about rising to the reputation of a living legend. For now, he's content to bask in his first real success. The romantic musical comedy, that was screened over the weekend at the Arts Centre, stars Abhishek as a bachelor who's not interested in arranged marriage but ultimately falls for his picture-perfect co-star, the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.
Although it's easy to swallow how he falls in love with his ravishing leading lady, the sudden break into song-and-dance is something that makes non-followers of the genre flinch. "Hindi cinema is escapist to the core. When the audience comes in, for the next two-and-a-half, three hours, you can forget all your troubles, check in all the problems at the door. Boy meets girl, their eyes meet, they break into a song in Switzerland. Where else can this fantasy play out?" he chuckles.
"There have been strident changes in Indian cinema recently and in the 1950s and 60s some very progressive films were made, but nothing beats this elevated reality. Cinema is a visual medium and looking good is all part of it. So you have the poor boy in the street but he wears Tommy Hilfiger on screen. It's all part of the game. At the same time, there are changes being made where cinema is looking more realistic."
As a graduate from Aiglon College, Switzerland, and then Boston University, his western education and Hollywood-ised entertainment sensibility must be presumed to step over Bollywood's suspended reality. "That's the Indian film industry," he says, "and please don't call it Bollywood."
His father shares the same sentiment. Last year, Bachchan senior told the Post: "Bollywood is an easy catch-phrase coined by the tabloids but we have our own identity and are not aping western cinema. The medium may be the same, but the style is completely different."
Abhishek continues in the same vein. "We don't make films for western audiences," he says. "Indian film has a fan following of its own. An Indian abroad isn't any less of an Indian than he is in India. Our culture is such that it's deep-rooted within us. Indian films are an integral part of us and it's our form of story-telling. Recently Bhoot [Ghost], a relatively short film [two hours] with no songs, did exceptionally well in India. The audience is growing and it's a very intelligent audience. A high percentage of our films have not done well at the box office over the past five years and the movie-makers have noticed. There are progressive changes made. Indian films have never looked better and the industry continues to grow."
Of the 10 films he's starred in over the past three years, Abhishek has hit as many genres as possible. His movies have been set in cities, in villages; his first film, Refugee, was set between the India-Pakistan border whereas his first release this year, Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon (I'm Mad About Prem) was shot entirely in New Zealand.
Is he looking for a niche or signing whatever comes along? "Two things that make me sign to a film are its story and its director. Within five minutes of a narration, you can tell what the director is all about. The director can convince me or be convinced that I'm not meant to be in a project," he says.
The most oft-seen phrase in his past reviews has been how "sincere" Abhishek is in his films, even in those that flopped. "Actors sometimes forget the critics are also part of the paying audience. I read constructive criticism and take note of things," he says. "I respect the written word and try to better myself. I know there's no personal vendetta, no axe to grind against me or my family by the reviewer. He/she paid for the ticket like anyone else so why wouldn't I take note? They are walking billboards who point out what's good and what's bad." He knocks on the coffee table in his hotel room. "Touch wood, the success of recent films is hopefully the beginning of a trend."
Abhishek Bachchan Picture by Antony Dickson
Originally published in South China Morning Post,
Friday, September 12, 2003
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