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From being caught in Raj Thackeray’s language divide in Mumbai to getting caught in the Delhi blasts, these are interesting times for Abhishek Bachchan. The actor was in the Capital near Connaught Place on Saturday evening when the serials blasts shook Delhi. CNN-IBN’s Suhasini Haidar spoke to him about being caught in Bachchan-Thackeray controversy in Mumbai to his first hand experience with terror, his identity beyond his father and the rumours that constantly hound his family.

Suhasini Haidar: You missed getting to Connaught Place by a few minutes on Saturday. Was it a narrow escape from the Delhi blasts for you?

Abhishek Bachchan: I wouldn't call it an escape. I was on my way to the Omega showroom in Connaught Place, but I changed my mind at the last minute as I had a function to attend, so I turned back. It’s only when I got home to get ready, I saw on the news that the blasts had taken place. It was just a horrific event and I felt really bad about it.

Suhasini Haidar: You stayed in Delhi to continue shooting for your film. What was really going through your mind as the film you were shooting for is also about Delhi?

Abhishek Bachchan: I felt that it was very important and so did everyone from the unit that work be carried on. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers were with the people who were affected. We were meant to talk the next day but I felt that it would be insensitive because the city was going through a tragedy and it would be just wrong timing. And talking about my films, and myself I just thought that it would be insensitive. You (the media) and I would also be very busy because of being occupied and emerged in the events.
So the right thing for me to do was to not talk about it at that point of time. But don’t let it deter you from carrying on your normal life. The greatest visual to see was the next morning when I was shooting in Chawri Bazaar. It was wonderful to see that Delhi was back on its feet and didn’t cow down to anything. I think that just shows the spirit of the city.

Suhasini Haidar: Do you think it is about our resilience, because we spoke about Mumbai’s resilience. Is it about resilience or have we become a bit immune to the impacts?

Abhishek Bachchan: No I don’t think anybody can be immune to something like this. I think we, as Indians are very resilient. We are a strong nation. I don’t think despite whatever happens, its not possible to get immune to something like this. The resilience and the pride in what we do as a nation does come through in a time like this.

Suhasini Haidar: There is a fright or terror for you family in the past month, the Maharashtra language divide if you like, Raj Thackeray’s threats against your family. Were those times frightening?

Abhishek Bachchan: I wouldn’t call it frightening. We are not the kind of family that gets frightened because there is a deep support for each other. I think you can only be frightened if you are wrong. I don’t think my mother said anything wrong at the audio release of Drona. I think her comments were off the cuff and not meant to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

But if they have, we as a family have always been taught the principles and morals given to us by our grandparents that if have we wronged someone or if somebody feels wronged by what we have said or done, it is our duty as a citizen and as a human being to apologise for it. There is nothing lowly in that at all.

Suhasini Haidar: You did nothing wrong, then why apologise?

Abhishek Bachchan: That is my belief. You might have a different belief. But I am not going to be arrogant enough to think that I am right and you are wrong.

Suhasini Haidar: Do you think that your father should not have apologised?

Abhishek Bachchan: I think my father did what he felt was correct.

Suhasini Haidar: But even so you say that as a family you stood up for what is right, but you were particularly targeted as well. We saw your posters being pulled down. Did you at any point feel like confronting Raj Thackeray and speaking to him? You do have a personal relation.

Abhishek Bachchan: I do. But it’s not my place to confront anybody. My job is to be an actor and to go to work every morning and to concentrate on that and not to concentrate on other things. If I deter from that then I would be doing injustice my profession and to my art which I think is suicidal. So I just prefer to concentrate on that.

Suhasini Haidar: You have that phone ad where you say 'Maja Mumbai cha phone number kar me Mumbaikar’. Even that seemed to be enough. People who were coming out to protest against the Bachchans and your films release were saying you weren’t Mumbaikar enough.

Abhishek Bachchan: I am born and brought up in Mumbai. I am what I am today because of the city of Mumbai. My family has achieved so much in this great city. I challenge anybody who says I am not a Mumbaikar. I have lived my entire life and I continue to. I was born and married there. In the future whenever I have kids, they will be born in Mumbai.

Suhasini Haidar: Do you feel that the Bachchans are targeted for publicity?

Abhishek Bachchan: No.

Suhasini Haidar: Conversely, many also said that the publicity that was generated couldn’t have come at a better time. Your father has a film that just released. You have a film that is coming up to release. How do you answer that charge?

Abhishek Bachchan: I think it is very foolish to say something like that. I think people who are saying that are saying it for the sake of saying it. There is nothing to substantiate it. Never has any controversy ever helped to the collections of a film.

Suhasini Haidar: There is also that sense that your family was targeted for one remark that brought out this big divide in Maharashtra about language and about being Maharashtrian and not being Maharashtrian. There were many who were willing to stand up for the Bachchans. There were many who were willing to say that there is freedom of speech and nobody has the right to be violent or pull down posters and attack theatres and then we heard the Bachchans have apologised. Many were disappointed by that.

Abhishek Bachchan: Sorry again. What can I say. I don’t think our job is to play into the demands of what other people need to do with the situations like this. We did what we wanted to do and thought was the right thing to do. My father also spoke to Rajeev Masand from your channel. He had said that what was most unfortunate was that there was a third party being affected and which must be stopped because it wasn’t fair. The third party was a man in a PVR cinema who got roughed up. The man who makes posters for a living. His livelihood was being questioned and obstructed. That is what we felt bad about.

Suhasini Haidar: Now that the entire issue has settled, have you spoken to Raj Thackeray at all?

Abhishek Bachchan: No.

Suhasini Haidar: Something rare also happened in that controversy. We heard that the Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi had put in a word for security on your behalf. Many always wonder, is there a possibility of the Bachchans and the Gandhis coming together again, a rapprochement of sorts.

Abhishek Bachchan: Everybody asks me these questions. I never knew that there was this big divide that took place in the first place. I really don’t understand why people would ask me that question.

Suhasini Haidar: Are you in touch with the Gandhis?

Abhishek Bachchan: I haven’t been on telephonic conversation with them.

Suhasini Haidar: You do feel that there is no problem between the two families?

Abhishek Bachchan: No.

Suhasini Haidar: There is also a political angle to it. Your mother is member of the Samajwadi Party which is now in alignment with the Congress. Do you see that political relationship leading to closer personal ties?

Abhishek Bachchan: No. I think politics is completely a separate chapter from ones personal life. We as a family have never allowed our film work to come in the way of our personal life, why would we let politics.

Suhasini Haidar: Amitabh Bachchan had a political career, Jaya Bachchan now has a political career, is there a political future for Abhishek Bachchan?

Abhishek Bachchan: I am not a politician. I don’t understand politics. It is not my expertise. I don’t think I would ever have the talent to be a politician. I am having enough trouble of being an actor.

Suhasini Haidar: So you are not following in your father’s footsteps with stint with politics.

Abhishek Bachchan: No.

Suhasini Haidar: You have been called ‘AB baby’, ‘junior B’, you have been called the ‘little B’ as opposed to the ‘Big B’, is that something that has ever bothered you at all?

Abhishek Bachchan: No never. I am my father’s son and I am very proud of it.

Suhasini Haidar: We saw you in the ad talking about ‘Big B’. It was funny because your father has always actually objected to that name.

Abhishek Bachchan: I think we object to a lot of things. At the end of the day unfortunately some of them become cast and stone. I don’t like the word ‘Bollywood.’ I don’t like to subscribe to that word. I don’t like to use it. But unfortunately it’s in the dictionary.

Suhasini Haidar: What would you say about your own identity? Do you feel in a sense that you have stepped out of your father's shadow?

Abhishek Bachchan: No, and I don't think that I ever will step out of his shadow and neither am I trying to. I say this because very early on in my career, even before my first film released, I realised that this is something I should never try to do. I'm very proud to be in my father's shadow, to be a Bachhan and to be his son. One of the greatest things in my life is that I'm my father's son.

I don’t look upon it negatively, because I think trying to do that would be done by somebody who is trying to compete with their own blood, which I don’t intend to do. I firmly believe that he is the greatest actor that ever was or ever will be in the world. So there is no sense of competition.

Suhasini Haidar: Yet somehow when your first film came out, Refugee and then Yuva, there were many of your fans who actually felt that you were breaking that mold. You were doing other things. And more recently, the films you have done seem to hark back to a lot of what your father did, some of the roles you portrayed are roles that you father had already done years ago. We understand that there are many remakes of his films coming up as well including the remake of Abhiman. Is that in a sense that you now feel that the brand of Amitabh Bachchan is just too big to move away from?

Abhishek Bachchan: I wouldn’t agree with that analysis. I have never tried to consciously ape my father or his career decisions or the movies that he has made. I would like to believe that I have tried to do the films that I have believed in which have not had much to do with the films that dad has made. Yes there is a script which is based on Abhiman which has been brought to Ashwariya and myself by a dear friend of ours, Rajiv Menon.

The film is under discussion. Nothing has been finalised yet. But there is no conscious effort to try and walk away or align oneself with any particular brand. You have to do the work you believe in. If that work has been something that has been made in the past, so be it. It is not something that I am conscious about.

Suhasini Haidar: Do you think you are a better dancer than your father?

Abhishek Bachchan: Well, he says I am. But I don't think so.

Suhasini Haidar: Is it true that his steps in the film Don for the song Khai Ke Paan Banaras Wala is something that he picked up from you?

Abhishek Bachchan: Yes that is true. Apparently when they were shooting for Khai Ke Paan Banaras Wala, he used to take me to the set. And whenever the song was played I used to start dancing to it and they allegedly copied my steps. Which I think is a very cool thing as I get a lot of bragging rights. I can go around bragging that Amitabh Bachchan copies me.

Suhasini Haidar: You do very much appear as a family, not just in public functions. We are talking about the ‘Unforgettable Tour’ in an attempt to sort of project ‘brand Bachchan.’ How was the ‘Unforgettable Tour' in terms of just being as a family on stage together?

Abhishek Bachchan: It was wonderful. What more could I ask for. It’s was six weeks on the road with my family which is very rare in our life. We all live in the same house but we don’t see each other for days sometimes because of the different work hours that we keep.

There is no effort to promote ‘brand Bachchan.’ We thought it would be wonderful if mom, dad, Ashwariya and myself went on a tour together. There were other actors on the tour. There were Preity Zinta, Vishal and Shekhar who are our music directors, Ritesh Deshmukh, Madhuri Dixit, Shilpa Shetty, Akshay Kumar. I think we looked upon as an opportunity to do something together as you would say, for example a film.

Suhasini Haidar: Can I just ask you about some of your films that are coming up? You have Dostana where you portray a character that is gay, and even pretends to be gay. Is commercial cinema ready to push the limits of what is okay in society to do. Is this going to be a sensitive portrayal?

Abhishek Bachchan: No. Dostana is a romantic comedy about two guys who pretend to be homosexual to get closer to the girl. It is a very funny film. I thought it would be a great character to play. I had just finished filming Drona which took its toll on me emotionally and physically. It was a very difficult and demanding film for me.

I thought it would be nice to take up something light. I don’t think we are going to pass any comment on homosexuality or anything of the sort. It is just a comedy and it is not meant to be taken so seriously.


Suhasini Haidar: One of the messages that Aamir Khan gave out on your behalf was on dyslexia in the film Taare Zameen Par. Were you at all surprised about that?

Abhishek Bachchan: No. Aamir called me when I was shooting for Guru and he said I am making this film and in our research we found out that you were dyslexic and I said yes I am actually the brand ambassador of dyslexia. I had minor dyslexia when I was in school and Aamir said would you mind if I’d use you as an example because the only examples that we have so far are Einstein and Tom Cruise, and I think it would really help if we had an Indian face to put there. I said by all means, please go ahead.

Suhasini Haidar: After Guru, you would come back together with Ashwariya perhaps in Abhiman. Would there be a change because Guru came out before your wedding?


Abhishek Bachchan: We did Sarkar Raj after our wedding. It was a lot of fun That has dad as well. Once the camera is rolling, we are professionals. We have to be in our character. The added benefit is when the dirctor says cut, I'm with my wife. It is wonderful.

Suhasini Haidar: It’s a year and a half since you got married. We saw the media frenzy then. Has that media frenzy lessened now?

Abhishek Bachchan: Not really.

Suhasini Haidar: Many viewers, fans of Ashwariya Rai’s seem to think they see less and less of her. Is that part of a plan.

Abhishek Bachchan: No. I have never understood why people would say that. I think this is what the media labeled upon her. She took two-three months off because she wanted to enjoy her newly married experience. Immediately after that she went into filming Sarkar Raj, which is released ever since.

After which she went on and shot for Pink Panther 2 which will release in February. She is currently in South America filming Robot with Rajni uncle (Rajinikanth) and she comes back and we start filming Mani Ratnam’s film after which she has four more films lined up. So, there is no plan. I think the initial few months after marriage she just wanted to stay at home and settle to the house.

Suhasini Haidar: In a sense, your mom, Jaya Bachchan herself admitted that she took a backstage sort of role with her career when it came to bringing up her family and bringing them all together. Is that the kind of role that you would see for Ashwariya as well?

Abhishek Bachchan: That is entirely her decision. My mother after she gave birth to my elder sister, she continued to work in films. In fact, she was pregnant with my sister throughout the shooting of Sholay and she continued to work until I was born. After which she felt on her own that she wanted to spend time with her children. She wanted to raise her children up. She just felt that was her maternal instinct. So, I think the decision is completely up to Ashwariya how she sees herself working as a professional.

Suhasini Haidar: Your father’s blog has been a phenomenal success, lot of hits on it. Many are always asking does Amitabh Bachchan really get up at 2:30 in the morning and hits his blog?

Abhishek Bachchan: No he doesn’t. He doesn’t sleep till 3 am. He is awake. He is very dedicated to his blog. He takes it very personally. I guarantee you that he could finish work midnight but he will stay up till he has completed his blog. He is very dedicated to his fans and to the people who read the blog. It is very rare for him not to post on a daily basis. No matter what time it is and however tired he is, he will blog and he sleeps after that.

Suhasini Haidar: It seems rarer for you, but you do have a blog plan as well?

Abhishek Bachchan: I haven’t planned anything but of late a lot of people have been urging me to do that. After seeing the kind of reaction and feedback dad gets back from the blog, I think it would be a very interesting thing to do. I haven’t been disciplined enough to dedicate that much of time that he has. I have been so busy with my work that I haven’t really thought about setting aside a particular amount of time. But I think it would be a very interesting thing to do. It is wonderful to be in direct touch with your audiences.

Suhasini Haidar: Many have said that they haven’t seen enough of Abhishek Bachchan, perhaps they will see more of you on your blog.