Abhishek Bachan. Well, this review tho hona hi tha considering I’ve mentioned him so many times in my reviews! What can I say about him? The icon of cool, of style, of charisma. The one who decided not to follow his fathers genre, but to invent one himself. The one who has been called a ‘mystery’ man but his outstanding acting and shocking style are anything but mysteries. The one who was taken away by a crowd of evil villains such as Esha and Kareena and Rani and Bipasha, preventing him from singing Dus Bahaane to Chandra!
Well obviously, all great people have to have been unsuccessful at some point in their careers, its only natural that they follow the saying “failure is the key to success” and Abhishek is no exception. An honest and dedicated actor, he faced many closed doors in life and at one point he was seriously doubting his chosen career path. However, finally, he was appreciated for what he was and greeted with open arms as one of the best actors in contemporary times.
You will notice I haven’t mentioned him as the son of Amitabh Bachan yet. This is because this was not the reason for his success. True, after his first film he was compared to his father in that he would never reach the standards that his father had set, but after that Abhishek made his own path and succeeded in that.
The shuruwat
Refugee. This was his debut movie but unfortunately it failed to become a hit, although Abhishek was appreciated by some. Directed by J.P Dutta and co-starring Kareena (maybe that explains the failure!), Abhishek’s role was seen as a typical and clichéd one so he wasn’t highly acclaimed for it. But don’t worry, I still loved him in this film! But the general opinion made his career start at an immediate low. Zero. Zilch. Nothing.
Tera Jaadu Chal Gaya: How can I put this nicely? This movie was rubbish! Everything from the directing to the script to the story to the characters to the actors (except Abhishek of course) sucked. Although Abhishek did his lovely, dedicated acting in this too, it could not be seen beneath the failure of the film. So his second film was also a flop.
Next, Abhishek did Dhai Akshar and Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai but unfortunately I haven’t got round to seeing them yet! Indeed I hadn’t even heard of them until around two weeks ago. (I know, I let him down!) Both movies were a super flop in the box office and both lay unnoticed. So I think we can conclude that Abhishek’s career plummeted deeply, even though his performance was not ridiculed.
Then came Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kia hai and Shararat. Although some liked Shararat, his acting was shunned to the side as nothing special, as was his co-actor Hritishaa Bhatt. Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kia Hai was the film where Abhishek’s career started to take a turn. Even he couldn’t have known what was in store for him.
The steps
His kismat seemed to change. Chandra came into his life! (hehe just kidding!) Abhishek began to be known for what a brilliant actor he was, even if his choice of films still wasn’t adequate!
Om Jai Jagdish: Although the former was another flop, Abhishek still did very well as the young, cheerful guy (he looked so cute), so he made sure that his presence was felt. However, even with the super star cast, the film failed to impress critics and again Abhishek wasn’t paid much attention.
But then came Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon and although I liked him already, this was the film that really made him stand out from the rest. Abhishek looked so good, oh and I mean acted so well too, as the sincere, silent, good-looking Prem and he was a refreshing change from the big-mouthed Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan!
Kuch Naa Kaho brought another lovely performance from Abhishek alongside Aishwaria Rai and he was well commended for it, but later came another series of downfalls as he released Mumbai se Aaya Mera Dost with Lara Dutta (explaining the failure) and Zameen, which also didn’t do wonders for his career.
The sweet scent of success
And then:
Yuva: This was the film where he was accepted with open arms by the audience. Doing a brilliant job alongside Rani Mukhergee, Abhishek played a gunda mavali type of person, which critcs widely acclaimed and which led him to win an award. It appeared from here that there was no going back for Abhishek.
The one minor glitch at this point was the film Run, the failure of which I blame on Bhumika Chawla and the director. But then Abhishek carried off many praises for his acting as a cautious lawyer in Phir Milenge and a cool policeman in Dhoom.
He also did an item number in the film Rakht, and One Love ended up a hit song! He also took a minor role as Rani’s husband in Hum Tum, where his performance was short but sweet.
And this season seems to be his best yet. Releasing Bunty aur Babli alongside Rani Mukhergee increased his fan club, of which I was always a member! :-) He played a very good ambitious Rakesh. And then came Dus where wo dus bahaane karke lehigaya dil, playing another secret service agent type role. Finally Sarkar with his father which went down tremendously well with the audience and you lovely people here on MS.
Some of his upcoming films include Dhoom 2 and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.
So Abhishek Bachan who never gave up has finally made it to the top. And now I think that he will always remain at the top. And if your reading this Abhishek then keep up your great acting and never change! Because like I always say:
Der se aaye lekin aaye tho sahi, aur wo bhi chappar far ke ;)
Don’t forget to RRC…:-)
R.P.S (review post-script): How can I recommend a person to you guys? That just doesn’t make sense! Ah well!