Abhishek Bachchan was last seen in Housefull 3 in 2016. His latest film Manmarziyaan releases on September 14.
“There are a lot of qualities in Robbie that I share but there are a lot that I don’t. I think the one major difference is Robbie is an introvert, I am an extrovert,” Abhishek Bachchan said while talking about his upcoming film Manmarziyaan in a candid chat with indianexpress.com.
Abhishek is returning to films after a hiatus of two years. And while he chose to star in an Anurag Kashyap film, the 42-year-old star said, “I hope I can imbibe some of this brilliance. I really enjoyed the process of working with him. It’s been one of the happiest professional experiences of my life. His process of doing a film changes with the subject of the film. I am going to make sure he gives me more opportunities to work with him in future.”
Abhishek might have stayed away from the archlights for some time, but he kept busy with football and kadabbi teams in the Indian Super League and Pro Kabaddi League. The actor said returning to a film’s set gave him happiness. “It reaffirms that this is what you need to be doing, and this is what you should be doing. I was very happy to be back on the set,” he gushed.
Abhishek Bachchan plays the character of Robbie in Manmarziyaan.
In love triangle Manmarziyaan, he plays a Punjabi guy. And going by the trailers, he seems the more sorted one of the trio.
“There was no brief to play Robbie. Anurag does not give you a brief. There are a few things we discussed about the character. Robbie is an investment banker from London, so we wanted to bring a bit of that decision-making process to his characterisation and that’s it. We were sure about a few things about Robbie because that came with the screenplay, but apart from that we both said let’s get onto the set and discover it,” Abhishek shared about working with Kashyap for the first time.
Manmarziyaan is being touted as Anurag Kashyap’s most colourful romance. The director, who is the champion of bringing out the rawness in human emotions, has also given this love triangle his signature twist. From its songs to screenplay, everything is Kashyap style, yet feels different.
“That’s one of the main reasons why I said yes to the film because you know he was going to do something different with it (a love triangle). He is going to take the story and turn it on its head, that’s the kind of director he is. He finds a unique way to tell a story. That really excited me,” Abhishek said.
Abhishek Bachchan is working for the first time with Anurag Kashyap in Manmarziyaan.
“In fact, we were on the same page throughout, which is very rare. But I am so happy that it happened. I just think he understood how I wanted to perform that role and I understood how he wanted to see the role. So, the synergy was fantastic,” he added in the exclusive chat.
Manmarziyaan also stars Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal, the two current heartthrobs of Bollywood. Sharing that he learned a lot from them, Abhishek said, “They are both very easy actors. They take their talent very lightly, in the sense they are very nonchalant about their talent. I think that’s beautiful. They will do the toughest of scenes, finish it and just walk away like it’s no big deal. It is fantastic how easily the talent comes to them.”
Abhishek Bachchan along with co-stars Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal during the promotions of Manmarziyaan.
Refusing to call Manmarziyaan a ‘woman-oriented’ film, Junior Bachchan, as he is fondly called, opined, “I am against this whole thing of ‘women-oriented films’. I think it is a wonderful story of three individuals. What I like about the film is especially the ladies are going to appreciate the perspective that Anurag has taken in the film. He has not judged anybody. Especially women in our society have become so used to being judged for everything and what’s wonderful about this film is that here the girl is wild at heart, is free and neither of her two loves ever judge her or ask her to change. They just love her for what she is. That I think is a very empowering thing for a woman to see.”
Stressing on the USP of Manmarziyaan, Abhishek added, “At the risk of sounding immodest, I really think that this film can go on to become the quintessential love story of this generation. Because I think that’s the message this generation wants to hear. I don’t think today’s girls are even interested in conforming to society, about what is acceptable and what is not. They do what they want to do. Why should I judge you for what your heart is feeling. I like that. I think that’s a very contemporary thought. So, I really think this generation is going to understand this film and will relate to it.
Abhishek Bachchan at the music concert in Delhi while promoting Manmarziyaan.
“It’s so nice that Manmrziyaan is set in Amritsar and not New Delhi or Mumbai or Bengaluru, which are considered modern cities. Amritsar is normal India. There’s this very nice dialogue where my mother asks me – ‘why do you love this girl? Just look at her.’ And I say – ‘there is no reason, I just love her.’ Why does there have to be a reason? If I love her, I love her. And I am going to accept her wholeheartedly. There is no condition to that. I really like that thought. That’s so nice. It’s utopian,” Abhishek signed off.