Posted:
Shah Rukh deserves his superstardom'
Catch Abhishek Bachchan in a free-wheeling chat with Subhash K Jha
Apparently in Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna you play a character close to your heart?
Actors always bring a lot of themselves into their characters. At the end of the day, the character is being performed by the actor, the character must therefore have elements of the actor. Karan knows me well, so he used a lot of my personality for my character in KANK. It's very important for me to identify with the character I play, otherwise I can't play him convincingly.
How did it feel to work with Shah Rukh Khan in KANK?
Only after you work with Shah Rukh do you truly understand why he enjoys the position he does. He's a humble and unassuming person. When you work with him you realise he's amazingly good at what he does. My advice to any actor who works with him is to interact with him off the sets for a week before the shooting begins. I was bowled over by him as an actor and a human being. I've never seen a more hard-working actor. On the sets he was always there for Karan and for his co-stars. He made sure that everyone ate well and performed properly.
You seem totally bowled over by him.
I hope I can work with SRK again and again. Shah Rukh is an immensely generous actor. He almost concentrates more on getting the other actor's performance right in a scene, than his own! When I was stuck during a scene, he readily helped me out. The amount I've learnt from him about conducting oneself as a person and as an actor, is insurmountable. Shah Rukh truly deserves his superstardom. He works hard for it, and he makes sure others work equally hard.
What about Preity Zinta?
KANK was our first film together, besides the little bit of work that we did together in Salaam Namaste, where she was lying on an operation table and screaming. She does not lie down in KANK, but she continues to shout at me!
She claims you can out-chatter her.
With Preity, it's a bit of an ego problem. Since I'm a very sore loser I've to try and out-do her in talking. I love Preity. She's one of the nicest persons I've met. I'm looking forward to working with her again in Shaad Ali's Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom. It's going be a fun film. It's exciting because of the cast. Preity, of course, is one of my favourite people on earth. Then there's Bobby Deol whom I've known since I was a kid. I've always wanted to work with him. There have been many projects in the past together which didn't work out.
You're also doing the sequel to Dhoom
One of the plus points of doing a sequel is that you already know the character. I play the same character. That makes it easier for me to play him. Then there's an equation already built with the crew. So you automatically get into the groove. The exciting part is to build a new mood within the given parameters since we can't serve the same thing to the audience. It's a new cast and a new plot. Hopefully it will be much better and bigger than the first Dhoom.
You're working with Hrithik again.
Dhoom 2 is my second film with Hrithik after Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. He isn't just hard-working, he's seven notches above that. Through his hard work, he pushes me to work. His perfectionism is infectious. What's wonderful about actors like Shah Rukh and Hrithik is they aren't just concerned about their own performance but also the entire film. It's great fun just hanging out with him. Shooting for Dhoom 2 was a party.
How does it feel to work with Ratnam again?
Yuva was a turning point in my career. And all credit for it goes to Mani Ratnam for this. Guru is a challenge. Mani likes to push his actors. He likes to break conventions. He gives you a scene, and you work it out as logically as you can. He then takes it and flips it around completely. He likes to go against the grain. With him, every actor had better rise to the occasion.
What other films are on the anvil?
After Shaad's film I'm doing a film with my friend Goldie Behl, Drona is the working title of this film. After Goldie's film I go on to Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar 2. Then I move on to Rakeysh Mehra's Delhi - 6. After that it'll be Rohan Sippy's film next year.
You and Rakeysh Mehra go back a long way.
Yes, I'm very excited about working with him. Rakeysh and I were both supposed to do our first feature film together. But it didn't work out. We've been trying to collaborate for ten years now. Every year we'd think of an idea, but it wouldn't work out.
So now you have two antithetical films, Umrao Jaan and KANK coming up one after the other.
It's only after I did my first period film Umrao Jaan that I realised how modern we are in our everyday conduct, as individuals. I had to try and forget my natural body language and demeanour, and reacclimatise myself. It was a challenge. Interestingly, I came to shoot for Umrao Jaan straight from KANK, straight from New York in recent times to Lucknow in the 19th century.
Why are you suddenly doing so many endorsements?
My criterion for endorsing a brand is simple. Would I use the product and am I comfortable endorsing it? It's very important for the brand ambassador to have faith in the product. I believe in the products I endorse.
Are very conscious of your public conduct?
You've to be true to yourself in your private and personal conduct. We have to realise we've a huge responsibility towards the public. They look at us to set examples and we have to be conscious of that.
Having said that, I must say that I am what I am and I behave the way I've been brought up to behave.
Catch Abhishek Bachchan in a free-wheeling chat with Subhash K Jha
Apparently in Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna you play a character close to your heart?
Actors always bring a lot of themselves into their characters. At the end of the day, the character is being performed by the actor, the character must therefore have elements of the actor. Karan knows me well, so he used a lot of my personality for my character in KANK. It's very important for me to identify with the character I play, otherwise I can't play him convincingly.
How did it feel to work with Shah Rukh Khan in KANK?
Only after you work with Shah Rukh do you truly understand why he enjoys the position he does. He's a humble and unassuming person. When you work with him you realise he's amazingly good at what he does. My advice to any actor who works with him is to interact with him off the sets for a week before the shooting begins. I was bowled over by him as an actor and a human being. I've never seen a more hard-working actor. On the sets he was always there for Karan and for his co-stars. He made sure that everyone ate well and performed properly.
You seem totally bowled over by him.
I hope I can work with SRK again and again. Shah Rukh is an immensely generous actor. He almost concentrates more on getting the other actor's performance right in a scene, than his own! When I was stuck during a scene, he readily helped me out. The amount I've learnt from him about conducting oneself as a person and as an actor, is insurmountable. Shah Rukh truly deserves his superstardom. He works hard for it, and he makes sure others work equally hard.
What about Preity Zinta?
KANK was our first film together, besides the little bit of work that we did together in Salaam Namaste, where she was lying on an operation table and screaming. She does not lie down in KANK, but she continues to shout at me!
She claims you can out-chatter her.
With Preity, it's a bit of an ego problem. Since I'm a very sore loser I've to try and out-do her in talking. I love Preity. She's one of the nicest persons I've met. I'm looking forward to working with her again in Shaad Ali's Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom. It's going be a fun film. It's exciting because of the cast. Preity, of course, is one of my favourite people on earth. Then there's Bobby Deol whom I've known since I was a kid. I've always wanted to work with him. There have been many projects in the past together which didn't work out.
You're also doing the sequel to Dhoom
One of the plus points of doing a sequel is that you already know the character. I play the same character. That makes it easier for me to play him. Then there's an equation already built with the crew. So you automatically get into the groove. The exciting part is to build a new mood within the given parameters since we can't serve the same thing to the audience. It's a new cast and a new plot. Hopefully it will be much better and bigger than the first Dhoom.
You're working with Hrithik again.
Dhoom 2 is my second film with Hrithik after Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. He isn't just hard-working, he's seven notches above that. Through his hard work, he pushes me to work. His perfectionism is infectious. What's wonderful about actors like Shah Rukh and Hrithik is they aren't just concerned about their own performance but also the entire film. It's great fun just hanging out with him. Shooting for Dhoom 2 was a party.
How does it feel to work with Ratnam again?
Yuva was a turning point in my career. And all credit for it goes to Mani Ratnam for this. Guru is a challenge. Mani likes to push his actors. He likes to break conventions. He gives you a scene, and you work it out as logically as you can. He then takes it and flips it around completely. He likes to go against the grain. With him, every actor had better rise to the occasion.
What other films are on the anvil?
After Shaad's film I'm doing a film with my friend Goldie Behl, Drona is the working title of this film. After Goldie's film I go on to Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar 2. Then I move on to Rakeysh Mehra's Delhi - 6. After that it'll be Rohan Sippy's film next year.
You and Rakeysh Mehra go back a long way.
Yes, I'm very excited about working with him. Rakeysh and I were both supposed to do our first feature film together. But it didn't work out. We've been trying to collaborate for ten years now. Every year we'd think of an idea, but it wouldn't work out.
So now you have two antithetical films, Umrao Jaan and KANK coming up one after the other.
It's only after I did my first period film Umrao Jaan that I realised how modern we are in our everyday conduct, as individuals. I had to try and forget my natural body language and demeanour, and reacclimatise myself. It was a challenge. Interestingly, I came to shoot for Umrao Jaan straight from KANK, straight from New York in recent times to Lucknow in the 19th century.
Why are you suddenly doing so many endorsements?
My criterion for endorsing a brand is simple. Would I use the product and am I comfortable endorsing it? It's very important for the brand ambassador to have faith in the product. I believe in the products I endorse.
Are very conscious of your public conduct?
You've to be true to yourself in your private and personal conduct. We have to realise we've a huge responsibility towards the public. They look at us to set examples and we have to be conscious of that.
Having said that, I must say that I am what I am and I behave the way I've been brought up to behave.
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