Abhishek Bachchan on when he wanted to quit films and Amitabh Bachchan’s advice: I did not bring you up to be a quitter

Abhishek Bachchan, in a recent interview, reflected about the struggles he faced in his initial years in the industry and what advice his father, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, gave him when he told him he wants “to quit.”

In a conversation with Nayandeep Rakshit, Abhishek was asked about the time when he was on the verge of quitting his acting career. “I have been in such situations. At the start of my career, I was going through a very rocky time with my films. No matter what I was trying, I wasn’t able to achieve whatever I wanted to achieve and match the standards that I had set for myself.”

“I remember going to my father one night and saying that I have made a mistake and no matter what I am trying, it is not working. Maybe, this is the way of the world telling me that this is not for you. He was amazing. He said, ‘I am telling you, as an actor and not your father, you have a long way to go; you are nowhere near the finished product, but you are improving with every film. Just keep working and you will get there’. And, as I was walking out of the room, he said that I did not bring you up to be a quitter, so keep fighting. That meant a lot,” he added.

Abhishek also said that failure is a part of life and everybody has to go through it. “With time, you learn a lot, and experience teaches you so much. If you look at it, we are all are fighting a losing battle. At the end of the day, none of us is getting out of this gig alive. You will fail, you just have to fail forward. Failure is an integral step to success. Without failure, there’s never going to be success. That’s the way I have looked at it. It’s like life, you breathe in, you have to breathe out as well. You are only answerable to your 8-year-old and 80-year-old selves,” he said.

Mr. Bachchan has been Abhishek’s constant cheerleader. He often takes to X to praise his performances.

Abhishek’s latest Be Happy, also starring Nora Fatehi, is currently streaming on Prime Video.