In an exclusive interview with mid-day.com, Abhishek Bachchan spoke about his show Breathe- Into The Shadows, the difference of shooting a film and a web-series, and how hell go to any lengths for his family!
Picture Courtesy: Official Instagram Account/Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan has just made his debut on the OTT platform in the form of Breathe-Into The Shadows. And in an interview with Supriya Nair of mid-day.com, the actor talked about his experience of filming the show, how different was it as compared to making a film, and how he could go to any lengths for his family.
Watch the full interview right here:
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First talking about what attracted him to the show, Bachchan said, "When Mayank and Vikram, the creators of the show, met me, they just narrated me the basic idea of what they were planning. I really liked that, I thought it had all the requisites for the kind of genre they were attempting to make. And I remember saying yes immediately after that."
Bachchan plays a psychiatrist in the show so what were the kind of preparations he had to do for his role. This is what he said, "My character Avinash Sabharwal is a psychiatrist in the show but the show isn't about psychiatry. It's his profession, it's a backdrop, it's more of a family drama, a family thriller. It's about the dynamics that happen within a family. There was an intensive prep because there was a lot of material to cover."
He continued, "Mayank, his brother is also a psychiatrist so he was the consultant on the show. Plus we also interviewed 3-4 other psychiatrists because we wanted to be as authentic as possible. I think this medium is all about authenticity and realism." The next question was about the difference he found between the OTT platform and films. "Nothing," he said. Adding, he stated, "The process is exactly the same. We just had to shoot for a longer period because our show is 12 episodes and each episode is almost an hour long."
He also said, "Someone said that Breathe would have made a very nice film. But I don't know if people would buy into the nuances of the characters and all the plot twists and turns if we had to concise everything from 12 hours to 2-2.5 hours. So writing for a film and writing for a show are two completely different disciplines."
Playing such an intense character can take a toll on an actor. What does Bachchan have to say about that? He said, "Everyday is different. Some days you're able to switch off and go back home and on somedays, you carry a bit back. Actors are very temperamental, very sensitive people." Did any scene in Breathe leave an impact on him? "It's an emotional show, it's the story of a couple whose daughter is kidnapped. And what all they are made to do to get their daughter back. So obviously there's a huge emotional upheaval in that."
Was he able to relate to his character in Breathe? "Absolutely," he said. Bachchan added, "I've made films where I couldn't relate to the character because I never met someone like that before. I did Happy New Year a few years back and I could not relate to the character of Nandu Bhide because I never met someone like Nandu Bhide. So sometimes you relate to them, sometimes you don't, you still have to do your job."
And how far would he go for a loved one? He said, "I'll do whatever it takes. My family means the world to me, I'll do anything for them." Does he feel any pressure about the second season of the show? He said, "50% of the audiences of the first show came from overseas. I don't think there's any pressure, we have given our best shot. There's a certain sense of responsibility, there's no pressure."
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