It might not be very easy walking out of the charisma of the great AB sr., not because he is a big man physically but for the great personality of his that stands up tall in the cinema of India. But then, the young AB has done just that, not just that, but he is cutting a space of his own in the hard to survive industry like Bollywood.
It is heartening for sure, the way he is shaping up as an actor. In an industry which is being criticized for having more stars and fewer actors, he is delivering stuff that is acceptable both ways. It sure is a tough job.
He initiated a lot of interest with his entry, as a viewer those days I was wondering if he’ll end up just another wannabe star, or a good material to watch out for. Then he looked more like the first thing to me, at least for the first few films, I can’t say what went wrong: Poor selection of films? Poor talent?
Not poor talent, as he proved as he emerged. First film to be noted was Guru as I could remember. Then came Sarkar. Then comes KANK. The cynic in me is mouthshut.
Three wonderful films and AB Jr. is now my choice. He is a star. He is a wonderful actor. He is the perfect choice for popular yet quality cinema.
Guru that way was a big surprise from AB Jr., as I had by then underrated him in a way. Through the film I was experiencing a wonderful performance, and once when I came out of the multiplex, I was all impressed. I wanted to watch his next.
In Sarkar, he had something to refer to in the form of the great Al Pacino, but Abhishek Bachan seemed to know the risks of duplicating. There was an abstract undercurrent of the unforgettable original, but his role in Sarkar was his own, his genuinely Indian interpretation. It proved the sudden maturity of the actor which wasn’t fully expected at that point.
By KANK, at least for me, something was really expected. It wasn’t surprise this time, it was more of satisfaction. (That is the trouble with outperforming, you can’t surprise all the time, you can only surprise once of twice. After that you can either satisfy or disappoint!)
So the pressure is up to AB Jr. now. Fact is that people have clearly identified as a wonderful actor. I hope his crew realize the scope and write stuff to test him, but then that’s how it normally works out. When you know there is a man waiting out there with potential, you know what job he is supposed to. Like that the great stuff is written for the great actors, and great actors at times inspire great writing. That’s how popular cinema works.
AB Jr. in way looks to be a part of the emerging wave. The co-riders of the new wave are like Ajay Devgan who had been an exciting actor for a while, showing good sense of character selection, or Saif Ali Khan who took a U-Turn ever since DCH and a few more who appears in smaller roles like Rajpal Yadav. And Amir Khan was always there.
I do see a great pool of talent evolving in many other aspects of the film making as well in Bollywood: Isn’t this looking really good!
And are we entering another great period of Hindi Cinema.