Abhishek Bachchan, who will next be seen in Ritesh Deshmukh’s period action-drama Raja Shivaji, has been relatively selective in his body of work in the past few years. During a recent interview, the actor spoke about wanting the liberty to choose work without any preset notions.
Speaking to Lilly Singh on her show Shameless with Lilly Singh, who asked about playing the ‘chill guy’ in films like Dus, Bluffmaster, and Dhoom, Abhishek said, “We forget, especially in our industry, that an actor should have the liberty to choose work that attracts them, not what is expected for them to be the number one actor. It is an art form; we forget that. In essence, you do films that you're inspired by or drawn to, that connect with you. The kind of person that I am, I think these subjects just kind of vibed with me, you know? I'm like, okay, I get this guy. I get this guy. I like what he's trying to do and say. I like what the director's trying to do. So I just kind of gravitated towards that."
Abhishek also recalled how Mani Ratnam’s Yuva (2004) was the first time he played an aggressive character, crediting his director and writer Anurag Kashyap for making his character Lallan Singh someone who could be humanised and justified in his actions despite his violence.
Abhishek had three releases last year, with Kaalidhar Laapata, Housefull 5, and Be Happy. His upcoming projects include King, the much-anticipated Shah Rukh Khan-Suhana Khan starrer where he plays the main antagonist.
Meanwhile, Raja Shivaji is set for theatrical release on May 1, clashing against Junaid Khan-Sai Pallavi starrer Ek Din.
