‘Devastated after Raavan’

Abhishek Bachchan admits it was tough regaining his confidence after Raavan's debacle, rubbishes rumours of issues with Karan Johar over not being made part of the Agneepath remake.

Post the debacle of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, actor Abhishek Bachchan turned into a recluse. He went off the social scene for a while and actively engrossed himself in other films. For Bachchan, the film’s debacle was "devastating and painful".



"It destroyed me," he says, "When you dedicate so much time and effort to a film, and then it doesn’t do well, it upsets you. However, I respect the audience’s judgement. But the press still keeps throwing failures in our faces; even six months down the line. That’s our life."



Talking about the period post Raavan, Bachchan says, "You have to get back on the saddle and keep riding. I had to dig very deep and find confidence to go back in front of the camera." Did he change his strategy? "No, that decreases creativity."

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Abhishek Bachchan

Brushing aside rumours of being upset with Karan Johar, for not being made part of the Agneepath remake, he retorts, "Do I look upset? I have never been spoken to for the film. But I will never question Karan on what film he offers me to do or not. That’s the faith I have in him. He is like my older brother; I have known him since I was a kid."



The actor, who is now upbeat about his forthcoming film, Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se, always wanted to play the role of a freedom fighter. The film is based on the Chittagong uprising wherein Bachchan plays the role of Suryjot Sen, the schoolteacher-turned-revolutionary. "I read Do And Die, and we visited some places in Calcutta along with Ashu (Gowariker) to learn more about the leader," says Bachchan.