Abhishek Bachchan made his acting debut with the drama film, Refugee in 2000. The film was written and directed by JP Dutta, and along with Abhishek, also marked the debut of the now-leading actress, Kareena Kapoor. Apart from them, it starred Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty and Anupam Kher, and was the fifth highest-grossing film of that year. Now, in an interview, Abhishek mentioned a few anecdotes from his debut film and why he feared that his father, Amitabh Bachchan would be called by the film's crew to take him back.
In an interview with Humans of Bombay, Abhishek Bachchan talked about his first scene from the film, Refugee, wherein he was heard revealing his name as 'Refugee'. For the uninitiated, the drama film was based on an unnamed Indian Muslim boy, played by Abhishek, who helps illegal refugees from India and Pakistan to cross the border through the Great Rann of Kutch. He recalled the director’s father, OP Dutta briefed him about his dialogues in the scene featuring him and actor, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, who played Kareena Kapoor’s father in the film. Recalling the same, Abhishek revealed:
“I remember OP sahab came and said let me tell you the dialogues and I was like ya sure. It was a scene between me and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. I had to fill jerry cans with water, as I embark on a trip with them. He asks, ‘Mr, what is your name?’ and I had to say, ‘Name? Refugee.’ I thought I got this, I am the bomb, I know how to do this.’ In my foolish, immature arrogance, the moment he told me the dialogue ‘Name Refugee’, I switched off! So I didn’t even listen to the three pages of dialogues after that! I had no clue.”
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Further, Abhishek mentioned how he casually delivered the one-liner dialogue and didn't pay any attention to the three pages of dialogue following the same. Moreover, when the scene was being shot, an excited audience of more than a hundred men from neighbouring villages gathered to see him. However, the misunderstanding about the dialogue and the overwhelming crowd made Abhishek nervous. As the camera rolled, Abhishek understood that instead of a ‘cut’ by the director, there was a long and awkward pause. This made the director ask him, "What about the rest of the dialogue?" Finally, talking about the same, Abhishek added:
“What rest of the dialogue! That’s when I got to know there were three pages and oh my God, all hell broke lose!”
This was then followed by a continuous effort by Abhishek retakes after retakes, filled with nervousness and fear. Abhishek shared that it was clear in his mind that Anupam Kher or Reena Roy or other film cast and crew members would call his father, Amitabh Bachchan, to complain about his acting skills. In addition, Abhishek explained how he was also profusely sweating and panicking due to all of this. He expressed:
“All the actors were there, Reena Roy ji, Anupam Kher ji, who is also one of my acting coaches, he is sitting there and suddenly I started thinking all these guys would call my dad and say, ‘Amit ji, ye toh gaya kaam se, isko waapas bula lo.’ There were people whispering and all of that. I had to do 17 retakes and it was just chaos! I was sweating, panicking and JP sahab understood that this guy has lost the plot.”
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Abhishek believed that every time he failed while the shot was retaken, the director would get angry. However, JP Dutta understood Abhishek's condition. He took him away from public attention and tried his best to make him understand that his fear would get the shot wrong. This is how JP Dutta encouraged him and reduced his nervousness. Abhishek mentioned:
“So everytime he would say cut, I would think, ‘He will now throw something at me, he will now slap me’. After the 17th take, he just got up, and I thought aaj toh padi (I am gone today), he will throw me out of the film, I am done. He came, placed his hand on my shoulder–I felt the heaviest of hand–and asked me what’s wrong. I told him I was really nervous, there were so many people. So he threw everyone out of the set. There was only our DOP, him, me and Kulbhushan ji. JP sahab said don’t worry, learn your lines, even if takes two days, we will be here till we get it right. It was so reassuring, in the next take, it was okay.”
What do you think about Abhishek's revelations regarding his acting experience? Let us know!
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