'I felt strongly about the film and did it'

Abhishek Bachchan gets introspective about luck his career his last film his Pa and the coming year Abhishek Bachchan never wanted to be the countrys biggest star like his dad People expected him to be He just wanted to act like many other star kids But he wasnt ANY star kid He was the Big Bs son So his flops always seemed bigger and his hits never big enough Somewhere along the way he accepted it as his destiny He didnt defend himself and stopped his dad from defending him He went into hiding after his or rather Mani Ratnams last dud Raavan He emerged after Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey KHJJS Though it opened poorly he is proud of theu00a0 film Read on to find out why as far as he is concerned the film is a success The decision to play Surjya Sen cannot be commercedriven What made you take up the partWhen Ashu Ashutosh Gowariker told me the basic idea of the film I felt it was a story that needed to be told I didnt look at it as a commercial film because as storytellers it is sometimes important tou00a0 tell a story without wondering how it is going to do commercially Something in me stood up and said This is a film you should doThe little bit of Bengali in youMore so the Indian in me Because Ashu was not going to emphasise on the Bengali aspect He very strongly felt about this freedom fighter who weve all forgotten I didnt know about him and I felt ashamed But to take 55 kids five friends and do what they did is an inspiring story and I thought it would connect with the youth I didnt see any reason why Surjyada should not be spoken about in the same breath as Bhagat Singhji and Chandrashekar Azadji because he was that great Like Ashu says at the end of the film Its never too late to salute our heroes I think it was driven by thatAgreed But most actors make that decision when they are on a highRight Theres a quote I live by Principles only mean something when you stick to them when they are inconvenient to stand by I felt strongly about the film and did it Am I in a position to do this I dont think one film determines my position I felt as an Indian it was my position to do this film and that was far more important to me than as an individual It is important to say something important sometimesI believe KHJJS didnt get a good opening as it wasnt promoted well AgreeIf you say that I will accept it because I look at it as a reaction But I also feel that a film like this cannot be promoted like any other normal film I cant promote this film as the same way as Dostana by going on reality shows etc because you have to maintain the dignity of the film Postmortems important or waste of timePostmortems are very very essential I learnt something important from Ashutosh during the making of this filmu00a0 a completely different way to analyse a film from what I have been doing He always says to ask yourself What goal did you set yourself when you decided to make this film Have you achieved that If you did thatu00a0 thats a form of success Success should not always be measured with box office I never thought like that before I am an industry kid I believed that if you make a film it should make money it should be a boxoffice successYes because filmmaking is a businessYes it is a commercial medium That is our main aim But with this film what did we set out to do Everyone in this film set out to put out a message everyone wanted to pay their tribute to Surjya and I think we did that The fact that he is spoken about today is far greater than any box office successLooking back do you feel the film was too serious or too longNo At the end of the day you are representing history so you cant depart from that Having said that it is incorrect if we think of entertainment as slapstick humour Raajneeti is a fantastic example It is one of the biggest hits of the year and its a very serious intense film Sarkar and Sarkar Raj were successful films there were no songs or light moments in both They had heavy drama I think at the end of the day the audience needs to be gripped and it doesnt have to be comedy Comedy is a safe option as people want to see stuff that makes them forget all their woes but dramas also work As for the length its 2 hours and 35 minutes Its Ashus shortest film yet But the subject determines the length of the film I picked up a little trivia the five top grossers in Hindi cinema are all three hours plus smiles Its a nice thing to knowYour last few films havent done well Bad luck or bad filmslong pause I dont know Luck plays a huge factor but we take the easy way out by saying its bad luck Having said that everybodys making a big deal about it My last two films have not worked but people are conveniently forgetting that I had a Dostana and au00a0 Paa before that But its a mixture of everything At the end of the day the genre doesnt matter You just have to connect with the audience Maybe they didnt connect with the films I have doneDo you think you get singled out for more criticism because of whose son you areNo Ive never thought like that because I would like to believe I am not given special treatment in the positive or the negative way I think you get what you deserve Ive also been on the other side of the fence when my films were doing well and no one was criticising me In the end you have to give a successful film thats all they wantI meant the media not the audienceThe media is an audience as well I dont differentiate Thats something people dont understand about me I equate them on the same level I dont get affected by criticism After my first two films I did I was young immature and I was like Hey I am working very hard why are they doing this to me Then when you gain a bit more experience you wonder Why am I fighting this Why have I got it into my head that somebody has an agenda against me The fact of the matter is that my films are not working So if my films are not working there has to be a reason for that If my movies were doing exceptionally well and I was still getting criticism I could have got negative about the whole thing Why do actors think Oh I have been singled out To think that I am being singled out because I am my fathers son wouldve been a very easy crutch and convenient Whats the fact of the matter My last film did not work If it did work would you say the same thing Oh they are being nice to me because I am my fathers son No its a very easy crutch to use You should go out there and take it on the chin when you deserve it Your dad defending Raavan became an issue with some mediapeopleTo set the record straight he never defended Raavan If you read the tweets you will see he was misrepresented I think it was very sad for people to treat him that way He is my father Apart from that I consider him to be the most respected person in the film industry and in the country I dont think he deserved that You cant take something he said and misrepresent it My father has never thought it to be correct or his place to defend my films or promote them There also lies a dilemma How does he react as a father He is in a position today where people dont allow him to react as a father Is that fair to himu00a0 Did you tell him not to talk about your films He stopped after thatFor a parent I think thats very sad Any parent reading this would agree Youve made a father so aware that he cannot pass comments on his own sons work But we have to accept the fact that some people dont appreciate Amitabh Bachchan the icon passing comments on his sons work So be it I know what he thinks of my films because he tells me to my face When I do a good job I get a big hug When I dont I am told what Ive done wrong and how to improve it Ive done a lot of work to get my parents approval and it puts me on the top of the world when they like my work And when they dont I get advice from two of the best actors in the industry soWhen Prahlad Kakkar made digs at you you hit back It was one of those rare times you reacted WhyI didnt react to what he said about me I know Prahlad He was at my wedding He is a fun guy I have no absolutely no problem with what he said about me and thats because it is the truth What did he sayThat I had given X amount of flops I have I cant run away from that its my reality I accept it He said I should be in the Guinness Book of Records I am already there for breaking a record during the promotion of Delhi6 I have absolutely no problem with what he said about me But I have a huge problem with people taking potshots at my film industryu00a0 A large group of people work very hard and make films with a lot of blood and sweat Its unfortunate that we are always targetted To call the industry a momandpop store where only sons and nephews get a chance ufffd is unfairu00a0 You want to say something about me fine No problem go ahead But dont take potshots at the film industryu00a0 I feel very strongly about it maybe because I have been born and brought up in this industryu00a0 I have grown up in this fraternity playing with the spotboys and lightmen on my fathers sets They are all like my extended family and thats why I reacted Any reaction to Anurag Kashyaps comments on KHJJS and your dadI have nothing to say about that You next lot of films is very commercialu00a0 Players with Abbas Mustan Dostana 2 and Rohit Shettys film Conscious decisionI also have Dum Maro Dum Game Anees Bazmees Hera Pheri Its just what I felt like doing I have come off two heavy films I wanted to do something light So 2011 willu00a0 be a big year for youAll of them wont release next year three or four will Starting with Game then Dum Maro Dum then Players Aneesbhais film and Rohits film As an actor any resolution for 2011I dont have resolutions They are the first thing to go out the window CmonMaybe give some laughs this year Give some reasons to smile and laugh