Abhishek Bachchan is back on the silver screen after a two-year hiatus with Anurag Kashyap's Manmarziyaan. His last release was Housefull 3 in 2016. In an interview with a leading daily, the actor spoke about his fears when he took a sabbatical and why it was necessary for him to take a break. He also revealed the advice he received from his father Amitabh Bachchan and his family.
Abhishek’s co-star from Manmarziyaan Taapsee Pannu had already called the actor’s decision of taking a break from films a courageous and heroic decision. During the course of the interview, Abhishek was asked whether he gained confidence in the fact that people were excited to watch him back on the screen. He told the daily, “When the promos of Manmarziyaan were out and the audience reacted positively, it was overwhelming for me because, at the back of my mind, I knew that they still remember me. I heaved a huge sigh of relief. Phew, they remember me! It was a boost for sure because I had the fear of being forgotten. However, that was even before I took the sabbatical.”
Abhishek also revealed how his decision of taking a break was met by his family. He said, “I was speaking to my family and I just told my dad that I wanted to take a pause. He asked me if I was sure because he had told me that in the early ’90s when he took a sabbatical of around four-five years, he considered it to be the biggest mistake of his life. He felt he had lost touch with what was going on, so his opinions stemmed from that experience. But I knew that I had to do this. Times have also changed since then.”
Defending his decision, Abhishek said that it was probably the best thing he ever did. He said, “I was lost before I took the decision to go on a break. The plan was to stop, pull back and re-evaluate. The last two-and-a-half-years have actually been a well-thought-out plan. I decided to stop signing films and take some time off to set up my other businesses. I was keen to re-energize and then come back to work. I didn’t want it to be robotic. I needed to remove myself from my comfort zone and be challenged. I wanted to check what I was doing. But more importantly, it was about how I was doing it.”
He further added, “I felt that there was a great sense of complacency that had crept into my work and I have always said that it’s the death of an actor. It’s important to be nervous, stay on edge and have doubts — about how am I going to do my work and if things will be proper. When those fears are no longer there and you are doing a lot of work like I was back then, you feel you are just coasting along.”
Well, now that is extremely courageous and practical, after all, all of us do need to sit back and visualize what we want out of life so that we keep ourselves motivated and inspired and not succumb to undue stress, pressure, and dejection.
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