So
often
actors
who
are
"on
the
edge" tend
to
forget
how
quickly
the
mountain
of
their
talent
can
turn
into
the
molehill
of
their
image.
But
Abhishek
Bachchan
has
developed
such
a
talent
for
going
so
far
over
the
edge
so
many
times
in
his
career
that
it's
as
if,
by
establishing
his
own
perspective,
he's
redefined
the
boundaries.
As
one
of
modern
cinema's
most
luminous
points
of
light,
binding
together
such
disparate,
and
often
desperate,
is
a
sense
of
honour
that
seems
to
come
from
Abhi's
implicit
understanding
of
how
far
over
the
edge
fate
can
lead
us.
But
the
buck
doesn't
stop
there.
Getting
the
chance
to
talk
to
the
uber-
talented
Bachchan
last
weekend
was,
well,
icing
on
the
cake.
It's
no
wonder
that
he
has
found
so
much
success
in
his
work
for
cult
roles
like
in
Yuva,
Guru,
Sarkar
and
Sarkar
Raj
-
he
is
an
intense
but
laid
back
man
drawn
to
his
passion
while
also
seeming
quite
grounded.
Our
talk
was
brief,
but
what
followed
was
a
look
into
the
process
of
making
this
genius.
We
won
our
battle
to
make
Abhishek
smile.
But
he
made
us
smile
too,
which
is
maybe
more
important
anyway.
The
principally
serious-minded
actor
who
loves
joking
around
off
and
on
the
sets
was
closing
in
on
the
end
of
a
long
day
on
Valentine's
Day
as
a
special
guest
at
the
Indian
Idol
show
taking
place
at
the
R.K.
Studios
in
Chembur.
He
walks
on
to
the
sets
along
with
his
co-star
Sonam
Kapoor,
shakes
a
leg
to
his
favourite
'Kaala
Bandar'
and
'Masakali'
to
which
the
audiences
scream
'once
more'.
He
really
got
in
the
groove
with
his
rapper
style
dance.
Next,
his
bouncers
in
grey
coloured
safari
suits
come
close
to
the
sets
signaling
that
it's
time
for
Abhi
to
exit...and
exit
quick
because
he
had
to
catch
a
flight
to
New
York
in
the
next
five
hours.
Out
walks
the
soaring
Bachchan
in
his
black
suede
suit
with
shiny
black
boots.
By
then,
we
had
given
up
hope.
He
opens
the
door
of
his
vanity
van.
Gets
in
and
shuts
it.
Within
seconds
his
bouncers
open
the
door
again,
and
then
the
extraordinary
happens.
Abhishek
Bachchan
invites
us
in
his
vanity
van
for
the
only
interview
he
wanted
to
do
on
the
V-Day.
We
knew
it
is
hard
work
to
talk
to
a
journo
after
a
four
hour
long
shoot
on
the
reality
show
but
also
knew
that
he's
happy
to
do
what
he
can
to
support
Delhi-6
Five
minutes
into
the
interview,
we
hear
"A.B.,
you
in?"
to
which
he
replied,
"Yeah
Bhabhs".
Now
this
is
what
a
true
gentleman
does.
He
introduced
us
to
Sonali
Bendre,
one
of
the
Indian
Idol
judges
for
the
season.
"Meet
my
bhabhi
Sonali",
he
says
with
utmost
respect.
His
sweet
bhabhi
requests
us,
"How
much
time
will
you
take
to
finish
the
interview?"
We
say,
"Give
us
five
minutes
please".
We
were
punctual
and
concluded
on
time.
Ten
minutes
is
what
Abhishek
took
from
us.
But
what
we
took
back
on
that
special
day
from
Abhi
was
-
his
affability,
his
liberality,
his
gravity
and
his
sincerity
towards
his
family,
his
work,
his
fellow
colleagues
and
journalists
like
us.
Bollywood
Hungama's
London
correspondent
and
UK's
Harrow
Observer
columnist
Devansh
Patel
met
the
towering
personality
called
Abhishek
Bachchan,
on
perhaps
one
of
his
most
busiest
days,
where
we
discussed
success,
failure,
overseas
audience,
Rishi
Kapoor,
Waheeda
Rahman,'Genda
Phool'
and
of
course,
Delhi
6,
all
in
ten
minutes.
Didn't
we
say
he
had
to
catch
a
flight?
How
far
are
we
going
to
see
an
actor
like
you
stretch?
It
feels
as
if
you're
already
on
the
apex
of
your
acting
career.
Thank
you.
It's
very
kind
of
you
to
say
that.
But
it's
not
about
how
far
I'm
going
to
stretch.
It's
about
how
far
the
directors
are
willing
to
push.
It's
always
been
about
the
director
and
I've
always
maintained
that.
We
actors,
unfortunately,
end
up
walking
away
with
all
the
credit
but
it
has
to
go
to
the
directors.
I'm
very
fortunate
that
somebody
like
Rakeysh
picked
me
to
play
Roshan
in
Delhi
6.
We
have
tried
something
new.
I
think
Rakeysh
is
somebody
who
you've
grown
to
expect
to
change
and
to
introduce
a
new
narrative
and
a
new
language
to
cinema.
I
do
hope
that
people
appreciate
the
effort
we've
put
into
Delhi
6.
When
we
met
Rakeysh
Mehra
and
one
of
the
writers,
Kamlesh
Pandey,
they
told
us
that
Delhi
6
is
a
modern
interpretation
of
Raj
Kapoor's
Jaagte
Raho.
Let's
put
it
this
way.
You
see
the
film
through
Roshan's
eyes
and
he
leads
you
through
the
entire
film.
He
is
almost
the
conduit.
He
speaks
to
the
audiences
throughout
the
film
through
his
voiceover,
through
his
actions.
This
is
something
I've
never
done
before
and
I
hope
I
manage
to
take
my
audience
through
the
film
because
if
I
manage
to
do
that,
it
will
mean
that
the
audiences
have
managed
to
allow
themselves
to
be
gripped
by
the
story
and
the
screenplay.
People
always
ask
you
-
What
have
you
learnt
from
your
failure.
Let's
flip
the
question.
What
have
you
learnt
from
your
success?
Not
to
take
it
seriously
(smiles).
That's
the
one
thing
everybody
who've
been
successful
will
tell
you.
The
day
you
start
taking
success
seriously,
it'll
take
it
back
from
you
the
next
day.
Your
success
is
an
acknowledgment
of
your
hard
work
and
hopefully
good
work.
But
in
order
to
maintain
it,
you
have
to
continue
to
work
hard
if
not
harder.
If
you
don't,
as
fast
as
you
caught
it,
it's
going
to
go
away.
You
will
be
the
first
Indian
actor
to
put
on
an
accent
throughout
the
film.
Was
it
then
necessary
to
put
on
an
enunciation
to
justify
your
character?
There
is
an
interesting
story
behind
this.
We
worked
out
an
accent.
I
had
an
accent
coach
because
Roshan
was
born
and
brought
up
in
New
York.
So
we
felt
that
Roshan
should
have
a
strong
New
York
accent.
We
did
a
few
readings
and
worked
on
it
for
a
month.
I
was
then
ready
with
the
lingo.
Once
I
was
ready,
we
did
another
reading
with
Rakeysh
and
recorded
it,
and
when
I
heard
it
again,
I
said,
"You
know
what
I
feel
is
going
to
happen
is
that
this
film
is
so
rooted
to
India
and
Indian
culture
and
it's
so
meant
for
the
Indian
audience
that
it
can
alienate
them
to
some
extent
because
they
might
have
trouble
understanding
what
I
was
saying".
The
NRI's
wouldn't
have
a
problem
accepting
it
but
back
home
in
India
things
might
go
wrong.
I
had
this
thought
because
I
was
watching
an
English
movie
channel
in
India
where
this
movie
had
English
subtitles.
I
enquired
why
an
English
film
should
have
an
English
subtitle
to
which
they
explained
that
a
lot
of
times
our
Indian
audience
cannot
understand
the
accent.
So
they
want
to
read
and
know
exactly
what
the
person
speaks.
That
made
a
lot
of
sense
to
me.
So
what
did
you
and
Rakeysh
finally
decide?
I
suggested
Rakeysh
to
have
a
twang
but
not
a
very
heavy
accent
because
we
could've
confused
our
Indian
audience.
He
thought
about
it
for
a
very
long
time
and
still
wanted
to
go
with
the
accent.
He
convinced
me
to
do
another
reading
and
by
the
end
of
it
he
finally
agreed
with
me.
We
went
for
a
faint
hint
of
the
accent.
So
in
spite
of
training
for
a
month
we
eventually
did
not
go
for
it
while
we
were
on
the
sets.
You
will
notice
it
once
you
see
the
film.
After
Sarkar
Raj
making
it
to
the
'Top
Ten'
films
at
the
U.K
box
office
last
year,
do
you
think
the
overseas
audience
are
now
accepting
a
change
in
cinema
by
not
being
tempted
by
just
candy
floss
films?
I've
always
believed
that
a
good
film
works
and
a
bad
film
doesn't.
Movies
like
Black,
Sarkar
and
Sarkar
Raj
which
are
song-less
films
have
proved
that
they
can
collect
huge
amounts
of
money
at
the
box
office
and
do
extremely
well.
All
these
films
have
gone
down
as
one
of
the
highest
grossing
films
of
that
particular
year.
Having
said
that,
I
do
believe
that
there
is
a
bit
of
a
glass
ceiling.
We
as
Indians
want
to
see
certain
elements
in
our
films.
We
love
our
song,
our
dance,
our
emotion,
and
if
you
see
the
trend,
it's
not
only
about
candy
floss
films.
It's
about
a
film
which
has
poetic
justice.
Song,
dance
and
emotions
are
the
three
strong
pillars
of
Indian
films
which
I
think
are
required
and
that's
when
your
audience
opens
up.
So
although
I
think
Sarkar
Raj
did
break
the
shackles
last
year,
it
will
still
take
more
time
until
the
overseas
completely
accepts
a
song-less
film.
So
is
it
right
to
say
that
Delhi
6
has
all
the
three
pillars?
You're
right.
Delhi
6
is
a
very
commercial
film.
It's
got
its
song,
dance
and
emotions
but
it's
also
got
a
new
narrative.
I
think
Delhi
6
will
appeal
to
both
Indian
and
the
overseas
audiences
because
of
its
strong
narrative.
Please
share
with
us
your
unforgettable
experience
working
with
Waheeda-ji
and
Rishi-ji.
(Smiles)
They
are
two
of
my
favourites.
I've
worked
with
Waheeda
aunty
before
in
Om
Jai
Jagdish.
It
was
a
sheer
honour
to
work
with
her
again.
She
is
the
most
dignified
and
beautiful
lady
on
Earth.
She's
such
a
wonderful
person
to
be
on
the
sets
with.
She
has
this
aura
about
her
which
lights
up
everyone's
life
and
I
can't
be
more
privileged
that
I
have
already
done
two
films
with
her.
Actors
go
through
their
entire
career
not
having
an
opportunity
to
work
with
her
because
she
doesn't
do
lot
of
work.
I
was
very
excited
that
she
had
agreed
to
do
Delhi
6.
I
was
equally,
if
not
slightly
more,
excited
about
Chintu
uncle
(Rishi
Kapoor)
because
he
was
my
childhood
hero.
If
there
was
anybody
after
dad
for
me,
it
was
Chintu
uncle.
So
there
I
was,
with
one
of
my
childhood
idols.
Guess
what;
he
didn't
let
me
down
at
all
in
terms
of
whatever
I
expected
of
him
in
the
screen
space
I
share
with
him
in
the
film.
He
is
sheer
brilliance.
He
is
so
effortless
yet
stylish
and
just
the
class
with
which
he
pulls
off
his
performances
is
commendable
and
makes
you
very
envious.
It's
been
ages
that
we
Indians
have
played
that
one
song
in
every
marriage
taking
place
in
India.
The
last
one
I
remember
was
'Didi
Tera
Dewar
Deewana'
from
Hum
Aapke
Hain
Kaun.
I
guess
'Genda
Phool'
has
arrived
with
a
bang.
(Smiles)
What's
wonderful
about
'Genda
Phool'
as
oppose
to
the
rest
of
the
album
is
that
it's
a
fantastic
fusion
between
a
folk
song
and
a
modern
orchestration
and
production.
What's
heartening
about
'Genda
Phool'
is
that
it
makes
you
feel
that
India
still
has
its
heart
in
its
roots.
You
give
them
(audience)
something
which
is
embedded
in
Indian
culture;
they're
going
to
go
for
it.
I'm
so
happy
about
that.
It's
an
old
folk
song
which
Rahman
and
his
team
reproduced
with
the
infusion
of
modern
beats.
The
song
epitomises
the
India
of
today.