Abhishek Bachchan not interested in breaking records

With his latest offering, ‘All Is Well’ gearing up for release, Abhishek Bachchan is all set to conquer the box office with his genre of comedy. ‘All Is Well’ starring Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Asin and Supriya Pathak is slated to hit the theatres on August 21. Here’s what the Jr Bachchan has to say ahead of the release:

Another comedy flick – ‘All is Well’:

“I wouldn't call ‘All Is Well’ a comedy movie. It’s a light-hearted as well as an emotional one and it's just that the script interested me at that time. The title is self-explanatory what you want to do in life.”

Quizzed on Rishi Kapoor’s short temper:

Abhishek says, “I have done two films with Rishi Kapoor, I have never heard of anybody complain about him. In fact, he is an asset.”

Teaming up with Asin after ‘Bol Bachchan’:

“She is a friend and I enjoy working with her. I have worked with her earlier in Bol Bachchan where she was my sister but this time she is my girlfriend. I like working with friends, we were a group of friends and all wonderful actors including Zeeshan Ali with whom I am working for the first time.

Equation with his dad after becoming a father:

“I don’t have that traditional father–son equation. We have always been friends and the equation is still the same. My being a father has not changed any equation. He is a grandfather to my daughter but to me he is the same father.

Aradhya following pro-Kabaddi:

“She doesn't follow pro-Kabaddi, she is too small to know all that. However, she follows the Hi-fi.”

Star daughter Aradhya:

“I don’t think children have that attention span. She's happy with her cartoons and has figured that her family is in movies as she sees us and points out when we are changing channels. That is the life. It's typical for others to grasp but now it is the norm for her. I don’t think she knows anything else as for me. That is the life she sees.”

Quality time with Aradhya:

“I see her off to school most of the times and yes I do interact with her teachers, any parent would. Aishwarya is more involved as she spends more time and I do it when I have time - I try and like to be with her. Where there is a will there is a way. Right now if you guys finish your interviews I will go straight to her. (Smiles)

Plans for the Kabaddi team:

“It's already an international game. More nations are playing Kabaddi. We have a lot of foreign players - Korean, Japanese, Ukrainian players in Raipur. Pink Panthers’ chose Kabaddi because this game has been there for 4000 years. Also, Cricket and Hockey have an infrastructure - I want this game also to be known. We all played kabaddi during our childhood. Dad took me to the garden for the first time as a child after I saw him play Kabaddi in Ganga ki Suaghandh and asked him what this game is like.”

Biopic on any players:

“A sports film is not about sports, it has to have a human story. Sport is just a backup. I have not thought about making a film on the game and neither have I got any great story to make a biopic. If someone comes up with an interesting subject, maybe I will.”

Yuvraj Singh Biopic:

“Yes, I said that I would want to do his biopic when someone asked me the question. I think Yuvraj's life graph is interesting. There's no trend I did Guru eight years ago. The subject has to interest you.”

Appealing aspect missing in films after ‘Guru’:

“Film-making is a unique medium and we can spend years in scripting, pre-production and post-production. We are so attached to the film but a third party judges the film which has no emotional attachment with the film whatsoever. You go and see the cinema and your opinion whether you liked the film or not seals the fate of the film. If someone says they have not liked a particular film after Guru, it is their opinion; I have to listen, accept that opinion and change the opinion. Because I may not get a job tomorrow and you are actually deciding my fate. The pressure is not on you, it's on me. Everybody has their own individual taste. You may have not liked it, but someone else might. You have to take collective view and write it. You can't please everyone you have to move on from there. It's a daily challenge and it's a lot more difficult than people think it is,” says Abhishek.

Continuing further, the actor says, “Why I have not done a film like ‘Guru’ because I have not got a film like that and my directors have not made a film. Sadly, the actors are given the bulk of all credit when they have the least. An actor's contribution is the least but they get lion's share of credit. But that's the way it is. Everyone talks about solo hero and multi-starrer films. I point out that Guru had Mithun Chakraborty, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Filmmaking is a team effort and if it is a solo hero film with just one actor it will be boring to see. We have labelled everything; we try and break everyone's record. Is that the quest to break everyone's record or good film and entertaining film is what we look forward too?

Take on Karan Johar’s statement of Bollywood being a star driven industry:

“Honestly, I have to agree with him. Obviously it's a star driven industry but who is putting the emphasis on it - the Media, the producers or the director. If you don't have a star, the film will not get funded but this is a commercial medium, there all cheques and balances you have to keep in place. But if it is a good film, it does not need a star. ‘Baahubali’ was not a star-driven film; it was a content driven film.

Bringing down star prices:

“Who pays the star prices? The producer and they should say – No. I am a producer as well and if I feel that stars are in my budget then they are in my budget or else I say no. As an individual I ask for the best that's my prerogative. I bring an ex-amount to the table, so I will demand. You take the initiative to make it with newcomers and it may do well. It's a vicious circle and I don’t think it's entirely fair that the stars are blamed for everything. The content has to be the king. If you make a film well, it will do well. There has to be collective effort. It’s a star-driven industry and is it fair. No film does well because of the star.”

By Lipika Varma