MUMBAI: Bollywood’s ‘crown prince’, Abhishek Bachchan, first referred to as nothing more than a shadow of his legendary father, is now one of India’s most celebrated and sought after actors. On this week’s TALK ASIA, Bachchan walks host Anjali Rao around the set of his new film ‘Sarkar Raj’ talking about the different roles he now plays as actor, son and husband. He candidly exposes what it takes to succeed in one of the largest film industries in the world and to carve a name for himself given the number of actors in the industry with famous backgrounds.

Working alongside equally well-known wife and one of the world’s most beautiful women Aishwarya, Bachchan comments, “It’s a continued honeymoon you could say and it feels very nice. I love being on set together all day and then going back home together. Because being actors we both know there’s going to be time ahead where we’re not going to see each other for months. So you try and enjoy every moment of it.” Considering the couple goes home after work, Rao queries whether the couple has ever argued on set, Bachchan smiles and says, “Exactly, I like sleeping on the bed as opposed to the couch, so…”

Despite growing up in a family of elite stars, Abhishek Bachchan was not born with a silver spoon. He worked every inch of the way to get to where he is today. As he chats to Anjali Rao on the star-studded set in Mumbai, Bachchan explains, “At the end of the day it’s got to do with luck. That’s one thing you learn very quickly in the Indian film industry. I can think of a hundred more talented actors than me, better looking, better built, more capable, but at the end of the day you realize very soon that it comes down to luck. At the end of the day it all depends on the mood of that one audience member that goes into that theatre. They’re not burdened with the baggage that you bring onto the film. It just depends whether the film manages to entertain them or not. And if it doesn’t, that’s it…So I’ve been blessed, yes, I consider myself very lucky.”< Page Break >

Having starred in more than 30 movies, Bachchan’s answer to his favourite role comes as a surprise, “More than being an actor, being my father’s son has been my favourite role. I enjoy the fact that I’m his son. I enjoy the responsibility he gives me. And most of all I enjoy being his bouncer. I enjoy that on Sundays hundreds of his fans come outside the gate of the house to meet him which is a trend that started after his ’82 accident… And it’s what I call his Lion King moment. He holds me up and says, here’s the cub.”

Reliving the remarkable moment of his career when Uday Chopra told him that Dhoom was his first hit, Bachchan nostalgically says, “I went out into his garden and started screaming, shouting and jumping up and down for about half an hour. I couldn’t believe it, I was in shock. And then I remember calling my sister and telling her that it’s a hit. And I was just so overcome by emotion because at that point in time, after 17 films, you have no self confidence left, and you’ve really put in your heart and soul into work, at that point you’re ready to accept it as a failure, because that’s what you’re tuned to. So it was very emotional for me.”

Bachchan shares his view on the Indian film industry, “We like larger than life films. We’re that kind of people. We’re very warm, we’re very festive, we’re musical, we’re over the top, and that’s the way we like it. People snicker sometimes and can’t believe why we have so many songs in our films. It’s because we’re a musical culture. If something happens in the family that is nice, we break into song.” Talking about the lessons that film industry’s taught him, he says, “As an actor, you have to realize it’s not about you, it was never about you. It’s about the film.”

On his forthcoming movies, he chats at length on working with his better half Aishwarya Rai and his upcoming tour to thirty different cities that takes him, his wife, Amitabh Bachchan, and Akshay Kumar to his fans around the world.

Airtimes: Indian Standard Time
Saturday, September 8 at 05:00 hrs, 20:30 hrs
Sunday, September 9 at 18:30 hrs

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