Abhishek Bachchan Recalls Amitabh Bachchan 'Destroying' Him During First Scene Together: 'He Told Me I Didn't Know How To Say Dialogues'

Actor Abhishek Bachchan's father, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, is his biggest fan as well as his sharpest critic. Abhishek says his father's glowing affection for him on social media, where he frequently champions his work, feels hard-earned because the screen icon has also been critical of his performances privately.

In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Abhishek was asked by a fan how he feels when his father hypes him up on social media and showers him with love.

"I hope I can call him my fan. I think he is an overzealous, emotional father right now. That's the one thing I love about him. In the initial parts of my career, we never really expressed all of that. I think he used to feel scared... but lately, he is doing a lot of it. You can't blame him, he is 83 years old," Abhishek said.

The actor added that every time Amitabh tweets about him, it acts as a boost for him to do better work. Abhishek said people often forget that apart from being a legend, Amitabh is also a father and, "hopefully, a father who has good reasons to be proud."

"That's what makes me wake up in the morning and put my boots on because he is going to be expecting something. I do what I do for my family; they are my greatest pride and joy. I feel embarrassed when he writes all these things, so I don't know how to respond."

Abhishek revealed how, when his father saw the trailer of his latest ZEE5 original film Kaalidhar Laapata, he dropped him a message so sweet that it left the actor emotional.

"But my response was a folded hands emoji! When I got home at night, dad was like, 'Yaar, I wrote you a very emotional message, and you sent me only an emoji?!' But I was like, whatever I write will sound fake. When your idol acknowledges —let alone appreciates — that you exist, it is a huge thing. He is just the greatest, and I am glad I am in a phase where he is content with my work. I have also seen the other side!" (laughs)

The actor then recalled how Amitabh was critical of his performance in Mani Ratnam's Yuva (2004), even when everyone at the premiere had applauded him. "Dad thought I was not effortless in the film. If you look back now, he was right. I am not natural in it, you can see me act in some scenes."

Abhishek then revealed the first-ever shot with his father was for Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar. Even though the film came out in 2005, it was the first movie they had shot for before Shaad Ali's Bunty Aur Babli, which was released a few months before the political drama.

The actor said it was Ram's idea to do a "test shoot" for a few days so that Abhishek could become less nervous before he goes on a long schedule for Bunty Aur Babli. On the first day of the shoot, Abhishek said he was "panicking, sweating and shaking" as he had to work with his father.

"It was a simple shot where he calls out my name, Shankar, and I have to turn and say, 'Ji?' That's it, and then the scene carries on. But I was petrified and shaking, because not only is he my father, but a legend, and he has that effect. When the shot got over, I ran to my vanity van and was waiting there for Dad to leave, so that I could leave after. But a little later, he came to my van and asked, 'Should we go home together?'"

"Now, we are sitting in the car and I am waiting, but there is pin-drop silence. When we reached home and the staff got out, he turned towards me and said (in that baritone), 'I have made you study and work hard all these years..." and my jaw dropped, as he continued, '.. and you don't know how to say your dialogues.' He just destroyed me."

When asked how he rebuilt (his confidence) from that, Abhishek quipped, "You don't. I just went to U. P. after that!" The actor recalled how he requested Shaad to call Amitabh only at the end of the schedule, where they had to film their "first proper scene together" which comes just before the chartbuster 'Kajra Re'.

"In the scene, we both are drunk. Imagine the first major sequence with Amitabh Bachchan was a drunk scene! So I have been through that phase with him; he is very demanding of me. As a father, you would want your child to do well. He doesn't need to say much, but that's more than enough. My father has never raised his voice or hand at me, ever. He didn't need to. It is just one call, going 'Abhishek...' and that's it. You are finished. He has that effect. But what he does now, I thank him for it, and I hope I can continue making him proud," he concluded.