MUMBAI: Abhishek Bachchan, who has recently been shooting for his favourite director – Mani Ratnam – feels he owes the nurturing of his talent to Ratnam.

Bachchan was shooting out of Orcha in Jhansi since mid-November for Ratnam’s latest project – Raavan.

Speaking to Businessocinema.com, Bachchan confessed, "Well, it’s been six years that I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mani. We started Yuva in 2003 and over the years he’s grown from being a mentor to now, a dear friend."

Bachchan is so fond of Mani that he has never discussed financial remunerations with the director. Doing Ratnam’s film has always been the uppermost thing on  mind.

Talking more about the director, Bachchan said, "The most anxious moments are the ones when you’re about to start a film with him, because after having worked with him on three films, I have learnt that you can never be fully prepared for what challenge he’s going to give you. His greatness is that he manages to make what seemed as a challenge at the start, a beautiful journey by the time you get done."

Abhishek has had to add inches to his waistline for all of Mani’s films, be it as Lallan Singh in Yuva or Gurukant Desai in Guru. The actor was on a diet of rasgullas to add almost 20 kgs to his lean frame. And now for his latest Raavan, AB has had to lose weight to achieve a gaunt look and so has been eating idlis and sambar for some months now. But that’s not all that Mani extracts from AB.

AB revealed, "What I love about working with him the most is how he pushes me creatively. He always wants to push the envelope and in turn makes a better actor out of you. His contribution to my life and career is something I will eternally be obliged to him for."