MUMBAI: After Drona, Delhi 6 was an all important film for Abhishek Bachchan as it would be a solo hero lead in a film. Now, in Bollywood, very few have had the distinction of having a successful solo film to his credit. And a lot was riding on the junior Bachchan to deliver with Delhi 6. But with trade reports calling it a dud and most significantly, Abhishek’s little or no participation in the progress of neither the film nor him being a protagonist in Delhi 6, has certainly compromised the position of the actor.
However, Abhishek’s well wishers have little to worry about. For every time he needs a resurrection of his career, he has good old Mani Ratnam to pull him out. Before the success of his Lallan Singh character in Yuva, Bachchan had a series of bad runs at the box office like Kuch Na Kaho, Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost, Run and LOC. Yuva gave AB the tag of an angry young man and his fans were quick to find similarities between him and his father, Amitabh Bachchan, who rose to super stardom as the original angry young man of the 70s and 80s.
The same came true for Abhishek before Guru. Umrao Jaan was a huge disappointment and the Bachchan pairing was viciously rejected by the Indian audiences. Mani Ratnam made him play Guru Kant Desai in Guru, and the brilliant director brought out every nuance of the actor’s vast array of histrionics. Abhishek was back in the reckoning.
However, Abhishek’s old ghosts have again come to haunt him. But the actor can rest in peace for, yet again, Mani Ratnam is there for him. Ravana will be Abhishek’s next release and with Mani at the helm of affairs who can get the best out of this extremely talented actor.
Abhishek’s career as a solo hero is far from being written off. Here’s to Abhishek and his skills. But a word of caution for the young lad, it’s not just good acting that makes a good actor, it’s his skill in choosing the right script that can make the difference from being known to be a good actor, and being one.
