Abhishek Bachchan says daughter Aaradhya treating him 'just as a parent' keeps him sane: 'At home, you're not a celeb'

Abhishek Bachchan talks about his new film, Be Happy, and how fatherhood has common factors in real life and on screen.

Abhishek Bachchan is yet again taking his dad persona on screen. His next film, Be Happy, sees him play father to a dance-crazed girl (played by Inaayat Verma). In the run-up to its release, the actor sits down with HT to talk about the film and the parallels between film and real life. (

Abhishek Bachchan's daughter Aaradhya is 13 years old now.

Abhishek Bachchan on Be Happy

Be Happy, directed by Remo D'Souza, is the story of a father who has to reluctantly learn dance in order to help his daughter fulfil her dream. But he says his real-life daughter has thankfully never put him in that spot. "There has never been a time when I have had to do something out of my comfort zone. There's been nothing where I have felt 'this is something I am not comfortable with, but I have to do it for my kid'. So far, I haven't been put in that situation, thankfully," he says.

Abhishek says he relied completely on the script to get the character and his equation with his daughter right. "The emotions are universal, but you have to understand the character's world and psyche. And the wonderfully written script helps there."

Abhishek Bachchan on stardom outside vs at home

Be Happy's trailer shows a banterous relationship between Abhishek and Inaayat's characters where the young girl doesn't think her dad is anything cool. Ask Abhishek if that's the case in real life too, and he quips, referring to daughter Aaradhya. "I have a 13-year-old so you know." The actor adds, "What's nice and refreshing is that at home, you're a parent. You're a professional or a celebrity, just a parent. I don't look upon it as a reality check but something nice because that love is coming from a genuine place, and not because of what you do."

He says that the Bachchan family has followed this 'tradition' over generations now. "I have done the same thing with my father. He was always dad at home. He wasn't Mr Amitabh Bachchan. That he was outside the gates. That's very nice and it keeps you sane," says Abhishek.

Be Happy also stars Nora Fatehi and Nassar. It releases on Amazon Prime Video on March 14.