Abhishek Bachchan: “Would love to work with my father; hope something comes by soon” (Exclusively on Indus Age)

As the sports drama Ghoomer, directed by R Balki, is winning hearts on the OTT platform, Nidhi Kumari, Indus Age, spoke to the Junior B (as he is lovingly called by the media) about playing Paddy, collaborating with R Balki after more than a decade and a half, his plans of working with his father, our beloved Big B (veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan), and more.

You have worked with R Balki before in Paa (in 2009). What took the two of you to come together after so long?

I think you should ask Balki that actually. Balki is a dear friend, and he’s a very unique filmmaker. He only makes films when he’s truly really inspired by a script and he made some wonderful films in between which we’ve always discussed, I mean, not for me to be cast but he bounces a lot of these ideas off me. I think after he just found a script (for Ghoomer), that he felt was right for me.

Do you think R Balki brings the best out of an actor?

Well, I’m nobody to say whether he brings out the best; I hope I manage to give my best to him; that’s all. He’s a director I’m very comfortable with; he’s a director that I trust implicitly, and I hope that whenever we do collaborate together I managed to give my best to him.

Watch the full interview at Indus Age YouTube channel:

Speaking about your character in Ghoomer and your relationship with Anina (Sayami Kher’s) character, you come as a ray of hope in her life and we all face that phase in our life when we want to just give up, so what do you have to say to all the people who should try one more time and not give up which what this film is all about?

I’m glad you said that because for me, this film has also been about redemption and about hope, and hope can come in the most unlikely of ways and packages. If you see Paddy, he’s not your quintessential embodiment of hope and positivity but he ends up being that, so in life, never ever give up because you never know how life will serve you with hope, in which form and in which means, so always be ready to receive that and to act upon it.

Who do you call as your ray of hope or someone you go to when you need that one push?

My father . . .

Since this film is about sports and you’re a sports enthusiast and you have your own team also; can we say that this is also one of the reasons for doing Ghoomer?

No . . . I mean, Yes, I love my sports teams. I love sports. I’m a huge sports fan. But for this film, the script itself is what prompted me. I didn’t need any other reason. Once I read the script, I just knew that this is a film I had to be a part of.

This film has other veteran actors also; there is Shabana (Azmi) ma’am, and others; so what is it like to work with such great ensemble of actors?

It’s wonderful. I get to learn so much. I’ve worked with Shabana aunty before and she’s just a legend and just to get to share screen space with her is a huge honor but also a wonderful learning experience, and I’ve always enjoyed doing work where there are a lot of actors and I prefer that.

If we talk about the digital premiere of this film on ZEE5 Global, what do you have to say about this platform showcasing rich content?

I think, any means that you can avail to yourself to get to your audience and show them your film is wonderful. Yes, ZEE5 Global has done wonderful work of getting the content out to their audience. I’ve worked with them in the past in Bob Biswas and we enjoyed a lot of success together with that, and I hope we can duplicate that with Ghoomer and I want to thank them for believing in Ghoomer and giving us this platform to showcase the film.

Are we also going to see you any in web series on the OTT platform?

Yeah; why not! As of now, there are no plans. I’ve been very busy with my movies.

There is a cameo of Big B on Ghoomer, but we also want to see both Amit(abh Bachchan) sir and you come together on the screen in a full-fledged collaboration; is that happening anytime?

I’d love that . . . I’d love that, but obviously something correct has to come by and I hope something comes by soon; I’d love to work with him again. I haven’t worked with him in a very very long time.

What do you want the audience to take away from the film? What do you want the audience to feel after watching Ghoomer?

I’d be more interested in learning from them (the audience) what they felt after seeing the film. I don’t want to dictate anything to them. I don’t want to direct them in any particular way. I’d much rather want them to just go watch the film and tell me what they felt.

I hope they feel inspired. I hope they feel inspired to go out and conquer whatever their dreams are.