Abhishek Bachchan recently completed 21 years in the Indian film industry. The actor-producer started in Bollywood in 2000 with the war film ‘Refugee’. And here he is, decades later, claiming his position all because of his skills.
One would think that with the lineage that he has, it would have been easy for him. But was it? Of course not. The ‘Bob Biswas’ actor recently opened up about the rejections he faced, the agonizing situations he handled in his career in B-town.
In his recent tete-a-tete, Hindustan Times quoted him saying, “I’ve seen the good side of being an employed actor, I’ve seen the other side of being an unemployed actor.”
“The point is, you can’t take things personally. At the end of the day, it’s just business. If your films are not doing well, nobody’s going to put money on you to make another film. So, I do believe that the conversation around this whole nepotism has become a bit convenient. And we’re forgetting certain details. It’s taken a lot of effort, a lot of heartaches, and heartbreak to make it through these 21 years. It’s not been easy.”
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Junior Bachchan further shared that before his debut film, he faced a lot of rejections. “It took me over two years to get my first film. A lot of people would think that being Mr. Bachchan’s son, people are going to be lined up around the block. No, they weren’t. I spoke to almost each and every director before starting, and they did not decide to work with me, and that’s fine.”
The ‘Ludo’ actor revealed that he has also been in a situation where he was told to vacate the front seat for a ‘bigger star’, reported The Indian Express.
“I’ve been in a situation where I’ve gone to a public function and you’re made to sit in the front row and you feel, ‘Wow! I didn’t think they’d put me in the front row. Okay, great!’ But then a bigger star shows up and they are like, ‘Okay, get up, move to the back’, and you go to the back. It’s all part of showbiz. You can’t take it personally.”
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Addressing the elephant in the room, his privilege, Abhishek admitted that he had access to get the first film ‘because there was a certain curiosity value about a star kid’. However, his dad, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, never made a film for him nor picked up the phone and requested anyone to do it. And that’s probably the reason why Big B is proud of his self-made son.
“I am proud of your struggle, I am very happy about your achievement,” Big B tweeted reacting to the response Abhishek has been receiving on his recent film.
बिना संघर्ष के जीवन में कुछ भी प्राप्त नहीं होता ! गर्व है मुझे, तुम्हारे संघर्ष का, अत्यंत प्रसन्नता है मुझे तुम्हारे 'प्राप्त' की ।
दादाजी के शब्द, और आशीर्वाद, पीढ़ी दर पीढ़ी हमें साथ देते रहें, यही सीख सदा ! प्रार्थना 🙏 🙏🙏🚩 https://t.co/DXfcJ2tItT— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) December 18, 2021
One can’t survive in the industry, that too for so long, without talent. Congratulations on your amazing and inspiring film legacy.