Abhishek Bachchan has been having a good run. Ludo released to unanimous praise in November and now he has another film up for a streaming release. The Big Bull, releasing on Disney+Hotstar on April 8 and co-produced by Ajay Devgn, has the 45-year-old actor in the role of a stock market kingpin of the ’90s, and is reportedly loosely based on Harshad Mehta.
Over a Zoom call from Agra where he is shooting for his latest film Dasvi, Abhishek chatted with The Telegraph on what went into being his character Hemant Shah in The Big Bull, how he never loses his cool with trolls and why he loves shooting in Calcutta.
The trailer of The Big Bull gives the impression of a powerful script and an author-backed role. That must have been incentive enough to sign on...
The answer isn’t as glamorous! (Laughs) Ajay (Devgn) is the producer and I will pretty much do anything that Ajay asks me to do. I consider him to be an elder brother and I can never say ‘no’ to him. So it was a ‘yes’ from me even before I heard the script. I knew that Ajay wouldn’t call me if he didn’t think it was worth my time. So that’s pretty much where it starts and ends (smiles).
I just lucked out that it was such a wonderful part and a wonderful film. Hemant Shah is a fictional character. He’s inspired by a whole lot of people and events. I think it will be wrong to say it’s based on any particular person. It’s a fictitious story.
It’s a great team. I would like to believe that we have made a good film. I am very happy with the film, I am proud of it. April 8 can’t come fast enough. I am waiting to share the film with the audience.
What was the biggest challenge of playing this man?
The biggest challenge was to sell his dream. This is a man who starts his life in a normal, middle-class household, living in a chawl and then grows to become, possibly, the richest man in India within a short span of time. To be able to convince the audience of this man’s steely determination to achieve his dreams was the biggest challenge. It’s actually very sensational, what this character does in the film. To make that believable and realistic and still show him as slightly flawed... that was the challenge.
Would you say the journey of this character is similar, in a way, to that of your protagonist in Guru?
Ya, I think the similarity between Gurukant Desai and Hemant Shah is their belief in themselves. Most achievers have unbelievable gumption and determination in their abilities... they back themselves, they bet on themselves. They have the ability to dare and to think larger than life and then bring in the hard work and discipline to achieve that. So in that aspect, they are pretty similar.
He also seems to be a man whose mind is constantly ticking...
Ya. Most hyper-achievers are like that. If I may give a personal example, I have a certain 78-year-old (dad Amitabh Bachchan) hyper-achiever at home who still gets up and goes to work every day, and his mind is ticking all the time (smiles).
What was it like revisiting the ’90s for this film?
Oh, it was brilliant! (Laughs) it was a full retro kickback, I really enjoyed it... the clothes to recreating things that haven’t stood the test of time and which we miss today. It was great!
What is it that you miss the most from that era?
Goldspot! You remember Goldspot?
Oh yes! No orange drink today comes close!
I agree! Which Indian kid of that time didn’t love Goldspot?! And I got to drink Goldspot in this film. I was kicked! (Laughs)
The inevitable question is that the web series Scam 1992, based on the life of Harshad Mehta, was one of the biggest hits of last year and met with huge praise. Does that make you nervous or does the success of that show actually help your film in terms of curiosity and buzz?
First of all, comparisons don’t faze me... I have dealt with comparisons my entire life! (Laughs) I incidentally watched Scam when I was in Calcutta last December, finishing Bob Biswas. I thoroughly enjoyed it... beautifully written, beautifully directed, fantastically acted, every department was just superlative. Its success is actually a huge sense of relief and reassurance to me that if you make a good product, people are going to like it.
Scam is a web series, it’s based on a book and has a completely different approach. Ours is a movie and we have to tell everything in just two hours. We get to take cinematic liberties. When you watch the film, you will realise that the two are vastly different in their narrative styles. The closest I can come to giving an example is that the web series The Loudest Voice (starring Russell Crowe) and the film Bombshell (with Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie) are based on the same subject, but they are completely different. At the end of the day, if it’s a good film, the audience will like it. It’s as simple as that.
Given the reception that Ludo met with, are you in a secure place now as far as having another release on a streaming platform is concerned?
Yes and no. No, because it’s just like saying, ‘Oh your last film was a big hit at the box office, so are you comfortable now?’ It doesn’t matter what you did last Friday... what matters is what you will do on the coming Friday. This is an entirely new journey and I am as nervous about this film as I was for the last and as I will be for the next ones.
Do Fridays still faze someone like you who seems unflappable in the face of anything?
Of course! That determines my life! Hundreds and thousands of people work countless number of hours to make a film. And someone who is not associated with that journey at all decides the fate of that film... that, in itself, is nerve-wracking. Plus, those people determine your future. If your film doesn’t do well, you are not going to get your next job. I try and take it in my stride, but it’s still very difficult, even after so many years.
How do you manage to keep your sense of humour intact even in the face of merciless social media trolling?
You can’t take those people seriously. You have to learn to take social media with a pinch of salt. Just because someone is saying something about you doesn’t mean it’s true. A little bit of friendly banter here and there never hurt anybody (smiles). Plus, I also think it’s important for us actors to not take ourselves so seriously. We should learn to laugh at ourselves.
With age and maturity and experience, I am learning what to prioritise. A faceless troll is not important, your work is important, your family and fans are important. But even otherwise, I have always been pretty good at taking a joke and laughing at myself.
Do you revisit your films?
Yes. I review all my films and try and see what I could have improved. It’s a process of continuous learning and I have a ready reckoner in my past work. I go back, I make notes, I always find different ways of doing something.
Is there a film where you find the least flaws?
No, no, they are all flawed. But I think that’s a good thing because that means I have grown as an artiste somewhere, that I have managed to find flaws.
Two decades in the business, what kind of a space are you in right now?
I just feel happy that I am getting to do the work I want to do. I feel lucky to be an actor whose dates are booked for the next one-and-a-half years. There are so many wonderful actors out there who are still looking for a job. It’s a very difficult and highly competitive business. To be getting work, and some great work... I count my blessings every day.
Abhishek on the sets of Bob Biswas in Calcutta Picture: B. Halder
What was it like shooting Bob Biswas in Calcutta? You did spend quite some time in the city last year...
If I talk about shooting in Calcutta, it’s tough not to talk about the food! Being half Bengali, it’s a given. Just this morning, I was speaking to Sujoy (Ghosh, the film’s producer) and we were reminiscing about the shoot. I got to do it over two prolonged periods, first in early 2020 and then in December, we went back to finish it.
This was the first time I spent so much time shooting in Calcutta. I had shot Yuva, Antarmahal and some parts of Raavan there. This time I really got to appreciate why it’s called the ‘city of joy’. Waking up and having jolbhora sondesh for breakfast is always a perk! (Laughs out loud)
