After a string of flop movies early in his career, actor Abhishek Bachchan thought he had joined the wrong profession but a dressing down from his father Amitabh made him decide to stick it out in Bollywood.
“Yes, I went to my dad and told him I think I made a mistake,” he said.
“He fired me. He said I didn’t bring you up to quit. I have faith in you. He said just go back and keep working,” Abhishek told NDTV while responding to a question on whether he thought he had made a mistake by coming to Bollywood in the initial days of his career.
“Dad asked me to spend time in front of the camera and learn to improve as long as I get an opportunity,” said Abhishek, who was once considered a pale shadow of his father.
Asked what crossed his mind after his 15th flop, Abhishek said, “It becomes a habit. Its very weird.”
Queried whether it is difficult to handle failure now that he had had quite a few hits, he said it is comparatively easier to handle failure in the early days of one’s career.
“Initially when you start you still live in hope. You know your first film does not do well, it hurts – second, third... it hurts but still you believe in yourself,” he said.
Life with Ash
The actor said he was enjoying his married life with Aishwarya Rai.
“The best part is that you get to live with your best friend. Somebody you enjoy spending time with, which I think is the reasonable criteria to get married. Its wonderful. I am enjoying myself,” he said.
When asked whether the film industry’s most eligible bachelor is now its most besotted husband, Abhishek said every husband should be besotted.
“I do not know if it is correct to call me the most eligible bachelor. I never believed that. I know many people were considered far more eligible then me. As far as besotted is concerned, every husband should be besotted,” he said.
“I think it is important for every husband to care for his wife and family and they should not marry if they do not.
“You should get married if you are prepared to live with somebody for life.”
Asked whether the Bachchan family discusses films when they eat together if they are all in town, Abhishek said talk about movies was totally banned at the table.
“Ma does not allow film talk at the table. After my sister got married, there were only three of us and I was just starting my career and then a little bit of that would slip in,” he said. “You just get a typical glare that a mother gives a child when you do something wrong.”