‘I Have Made a Lot of Mistakes, I won’t Make Them Again’: Abhishek Bachchan on his Hiatus

Abhishek, why this prolonged hiatus from the screen?

I think I  wanted  to move back and see  the  quality  of work that I wanted to do in the future. It was a time of….

Churning?

I wouldn’t say  churning. No, I’d say … revaluation, reassessment. During this slight  hiatus I took stock of my weaknesses and strengths and  zeroed in  on  the kind of work that I wanted to do. Of course I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I won’t make  those mistakes again. But I won’t shy away from making new mistakes. I’ve  a bright  new team  to help me.

How did Manmarziyan become your first film post reassessment?

It was  not planned. Manmarziyan just fell into my lap. Aanand Rai whom I’ve known  for years, asked me  if I wanted  to do a  film with him. I’ve always liked Aanand’s work . So I immediately agreed to hear the script. Aanand then sent the writer Kannika Dhillon to me to narrate the script. Our  first meeting convinced I wanted to do this film. Kannika had so much confidence in her  script and the characters. She  wasn’t dazzled by the thought  of getting stars into Manmarziyan.

Apparently Kannika had already  zeroed in on you, Vicky Kaushal and Tapsee for the three leads in Manmarziyan?

I’d like to believe  this. Vicky and Tapsee were  on board before I  came on. When I  was considering  the  project  I wasn’t sure who the  director was. Was it Aanand Rai  or Kannika  Dhillon? I wanted to know. It was then that I got to know the  film will be  directed  by  Anurag  Kashyap. I  was  like, ‘Ok, interesting.’

Were you looking forward to  working with Kashyap?

His films , no matter how dark, are always  something above the ordinary. But this time in Manmarziyan Anurag Kashyap has not made a  dark film. Manmarziyan is a light happy film. It is a new  experience  for Anurag, and  for me. So in many ways we  were both exploring new facets of  our personality through this film.

Are you as happy with Manmarziyan after  its completion as you were when you started out?

Even happier. The  film is  a completely new experience for me. I’ve never  played any character  like  Robbie .And I’ve never been a part  of a film like Manmarziyan. I love the way Anurag uses silences in the film. I’ve always  believed a performance is bolstered not by dialogues  but by what is left unspoken.

Anurag is so happy with your performance that  he has signed you for another film, this one with your wife?

You mean Galub Jamun? No, Anurag is only producing that. It is  being directed  by a  new director Sarvesh Mewara. This one is a  little way off before starting. I am doing another  film which I am  not at liberty to  talk about before Gulab Jamun. But yes Gulab Jamun is as sweet a film as it sounds.And it’s always a pleasure  to work with the Missus. Every time we’ve done a film together it’s been special. I am confident  Gulab Jamun would also be  a treat.

How do you manage to remain so calm on twitter even when you are attacked viciously and personally?

It’s something I  don’t think about much. The whole idea of making offensive comments  is to provoke a reaction .I won’t play into their hands. See, I am open to healthy criticism and debate. If you make  a reasonable criticism I am all for it.  But if you lash out just for the sake of being nasty, I am  not going to indulge in  mud-slinging with you.

What about Dhoom 4?

What about it? I’ve neither been approached for Dhoom 4 nor do I  have any information on this. Until Adi (producer Aditya Chopra) tells me about it I’ve no idea of Dhoom 4.