Abhishek Bachchan, who was in Indore recently, spoke about how he feels that there's scope for him to improve and evolve as an actor.
Have you ever been to Indore before?
I used to come to Bhopal to visit my grandmother, and Indore was one of the places where our flight used to land. My cousins were studying at Daly College in the city, so we used to come to Indore to meet them. I think the city is developing at a rapid rate.
You just became a dad and you're already out and about for film promotions, is it hard to leave your family behind due to work commitments?
Yes, it is definitely something which cannot be explained. People who might have faced similar situations in any other profession would definitely understand the emotions that we go through.
So have you finally decided on a name for your little girl?
I will let you know once we finalise it. We call her Bitiya as of now. It's been a long journey for you as an actor, and with a career that spans across almost 40 to 50 films.
What according to you is the hardest part of being an actor?
I feel that one of the hardest things in acting is the way you need to switch your emotions. If I give you a role where you need to smile and laugh, then you need to think of some of the happy moments of your life and then cast yourself into the mould of that character. If suddenly, the next shot is about serious stuff, where you require tears flowing from your eyes, you might have to remind yourself of some sad phase, or imagine yourself in that phase. This emotional jugglery which we face is perhaps the hardest thing to do.
And there have been a lot of reports that you're quite the prankster on the sets...
See, movie-making is serious business. The director and the crew are already under a lot of pressure to give their best to the audience. Therefore the best part, for me as an actor, is to act well in the movies and make a jolly atmosphere with the co-stars on the sets. Cracking jokes is a different thing but I have never ever played a prank.
So how do you rate your movies and your performances?
Honestly speaking, I don't like my films.When I watch them, I see a lot of scope for improvement, so if I were to see any of my films, like "Dhoom", I might say... 'It would have been better if...' or 'had it been ...' and this is all about evolving.
Have you seen a change in the Indian audience over the years?
I believe that the Indian audience is much more poetic in nature; they want to see something which they themselves do not have. It might be that they want to imagine themselves in that state. Most of the people are still from predominantly poor backgrounds, and they see the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the public loves the hero who can fight the rich.
Are you also in in the race to develop six-pack abs like your other maly Bollywood counterparts?
(Laughs) Just because I don't show six-pack abs doesn't mean that I don't have them. I cannot play Gurukant Desai with six-pack abs, and the tough cop who does not take any nonsense in "Dhoom" or "Dum Maaro Dum" cannot be someone who loves taking his shirt off and show his six-pack-abs.
I need a concrete reason to take my shirt off on screen and when I see a point in doing so, I will definitely be showing them like Aamir did in " Ghajini".
What do you think makes a film work?
One needs to know what sort of people you need to cater to. Lets talk about " Delhi Belly". Aamir marketed the movie saying that, 'It is meant just for youngsters, those who have a problem can sit at home'.
So one needs to know the taste of the audience as well.
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