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Wednesday, February 04, 2004 |
 Busy as a ‘B’ee, he’s presently working on Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Naach’, which is rumored to be a musical, the first of it’s kind in India. Now it’s known to all and sundry that Abhishek is cursed, so to speak, with two left feet. ‘Naach’ the name itself demands dance. How comfortable is he with the ritual? "That’s presuming there is the dance ritual in the film," he cuts through, "Really, we’ve just started the film. It’s a little premature to talk about it right now. This is just our second shoot and so far, we haven’t danced. And I’m hoping there isn’t any either," he laughs displaying his discomfort. The past two times when RGV had approached Abhishek for ‘Bhoot’ and ‘Company’, he couldn’t spare his dates. In an industry that is reputed for it’s liberal dose of inflated egos, doesn’t he feel lucky that he’s been considered for RGV’s next? "Well, I don’t think there are inflated egos in this industry," Abhishek does a retake on my insinuation, "If there are, I haven’t encountered them. Ramu is a very down to earth, dedicated filmmaker.
He overlooked the fact that the previous times we couldn’t work together. And that by the grace of God, they did this time. That’s it, there was never any feeling of ill will or anything of the sort between Ramu and me. He’s a very clear cut person, he lays out his cards on the table and expects the same from you," he adds. It’s hard to get a handle on Abhishek, most often you’d end up feeling diabetic. He is excruciatingly polite. You can beat the daylights out of him and yet he wouldn’t arrive at one harsh word. Learning what papa has preached, we suppose.
With not one mean bone in that six-foot package, one wonders what a daunting task it must’ve been for this junior Bachchan to play the negative character that he portrays in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Yuva’. "No that’s not true," Abhishek denies, "I don’t play a negative character in ‘Yuva’," he puts an end to any further questioning. The film apart from A.B jr. stars Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee, Esha Deol and Kareena Kapoor. How was it working with such an ensemble cast? Any fireworks? I add the last bit in a desperate bid to add some masala to the otherwise drab questioning. "‘Yuva’ was great fun, I got to work with friends. There was a wonderful atmosphere on the sets, one conducive to great creativity. And at the helm of the sets, you have someone like Mr. Mani Ratnam. So what more can an actor ask for?" he adds zestfully.
 It was during the course of the shooting that Vivek Oberoi met with an unfortunate accident, thanks to some stunt that went wrong. It must’ve rattled the schedule and his co-stars. "Well, evidently it disrupted the schedule," Abhi agrees, "Vivek had broken his leg. Yes, it was very scary. I mean it happened five feet in front of me."
For heroes who are viewed by the audience as larger than life, this must’ve been an eye opener of sorts.
"Whenever an actor, whether in this case, a Vivek, who breaks his leg and gets into serious trouble, or you just break a nail or get a scratch. It makes you realize that you’re a human being. And that frailty isn’t exclusive to anybody." He gets introspective. Apparently the sets of ‘Yuva’ was abuzz with the male bonding that extended beyond professional barriers to Chennai’s nightspots where Vivek, Abhishek and Ajay partied together. There is a long perfunctory pause where one can almost hear oneself aloud in manner of exaggerated opera scenes, when I pose this question. "I don’t understand the question," Abhishek breaks the silence, "I don’t see why people should not get along when they work together. It’s only normal for individuals working together. Nobody hates each other in this industry. We are all part of the same fraternity after all," he says abandoning my negative disposition. The part about co-stars being congenial is so true. Everyone from Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu (‘Ajnabee’) to Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty (‘Awaara Paagal Deewana’) ended up best buddies after working together.
 One of Abhishek’s last year efforts, Boney Kapoor’s ‘Run’ is all set for the serving with merely the seasoning left to be done. One hears that it’s a situational comedy. "Gosh, your homework is impeccable," Abhishek interrupts caustically and bursts my bubble and smirks, "No, it’s an action film." ‘Bummer’, I lament while he laughs at my disappointment for having to rule out all related questions. Apparently, the shooting was held up due to some monetary problems that Boney was facing. "‘Run’?" he counter questions, "I started ‘Run’ in April last year and its complete. So I don’t think it was held up with any monetary problems." An impressive list of films rest on Abhishek’s slouched shoulders. Apart from the ones that are aforementioned, there is a film with AB Corp that is to be directed by Apurva Lakhiya, the Chopras’ next, directed by Sanjay Gadvi, also starring John Abraham and Rimi Sen, ‘Vande Mataram’ with Mani Shankar,and three-four other films, which are still on the drawing board. With all of this one wonders if he ever has time for himself. "Trust me, I don’t," he laments.
However, that doesn’t imply that this free spirited Aquarian has been up to all work and no play. In an earlier interview, he admitted that he was, "Dating women like any other person his age." Although that hasn’t put his mama’s match fixing spirit to rest. Apparently Mama Bachchan has been looking high and low to find a suitable bride for her son. Abhishek is visibly amused at my suggestion, "Really?" he inquires, "I am not aware that my mother’s been bride hunting for me." After a moment’s pause, he repeats with a child like enthusiasm, "Where did you hear this?" And peals of laughter fill the chilly trailer.
— Archana Aithal Source: http://www.stardustindia.com/display_Standard.asp?section=starspeaks&subsection=&xml=February2004_starspeaks_standard44 |
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