EXCLUSIVE: Manmarziyaan actor Abhishek Bachchan reveals how two years of sabbatical has changed the way he chooses films

By Monica Yadav -

September 17, 2018 - 7:41 PM IST

Abhishek Bachchan is back with Anurag Kashyap’s romance drama Manmarziyaan. In a never seen before avatar, the actor is receiving a lot of praise for his character along with Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal. As the film continues to grow at the box office, Abhishek Bachchan seems have made a good comeback with this. But, two years later, he opens up about his sabbatical and the break has helped him have a perspective on how he wants to proceed further.

Speaking about the sabbatical, Abhishek Bachchan said, “No. It's not the kind of films I want to do. It's more about how I want to do it. I think there is a paradigm shift in that. I was always happy about the work I was doing. I wasn't happy about how I was doing them. And that's what I wanted to change and that's why I took a sabbatical. It's more about the personal thing than the subject matter.”

EXCLUSIVE: Manmarziyaan actor Abhishek Bachchan reveals how two years of sabbatical has changed the way he chooses films

If one remembers, the actor had shared a picture on his Instagram where was from his makeup room. It was two years he had returned to a set and it felt like new start for him. When asked about how he felt on the first day on the sets of Manmarziyaan, he said, “We were shooting in a nightclub in a hotel. They had given me a room where they had allowed me to get ready. We were shooting something else and I was waiting. I remember being very very nervous. The funny thing is the minute I reached the set, everything was there and it was fine.”

This happens to be the first time Anurag Kashyap dived into the romance genre. Working with him was definitely interesting for Abhishek Bachchan. They even had discussions on how they wanted to see his character. “Anurag came up with the story and I knew he would definitely do something interesting and will have a very unique perspective on it. It felt right. There were a lot of discussions that Anurag and I had on the character and how we saw it to develop in the film. What was more challenging is that it is a very introverted character, doesn't speak too much, and internalizes everything. It has been a really great opportunity to play a character which didn't have the usual crutches the actor usually gets to do action and dialogue and express. We were very excited to do explore and see how we could do it,” he added.

Well, as the film focusses majorly on Abhishek, Vicky Kaushal and Taapsee Pannu, it did seem like these three got along really well from the get go. When asked about working with two of the most critically acclaimed actors, he said, “The really nice thing about this film was it was the first time I worked with everyone. Barring one actor who plays Taapsee's grandfather in the film, this was the first time I have worked with everyone on the film. I did Dhai Akshar Prem Ke with him. So, it was so refreshing to have that energy. And to see the new actors and what they have to do. Taapsee and Vicky, they are so effortless in what they do. They so effortlessly slip into these characters.” He added, “I have been always very conscious about that you have to get along. There were so many times I was sitting and enjoying this. It was such a joy to watch these guys perform and learn so much from them. They do such a rollercoaster of scenes and they do it in one take and there are emotions flying and there are back to their game. And I was like really? And they are like 'Ya, its fine!' I really enjoyed working with them.”

Manmarziyaan, directed by Anurag Kashyap, released on September 14, 2018.