The only occasion I’ve seen Amitabh Bachchan raving over his son Abhishek Bachchan’s performance was after Mani Ratnam’s Guru. The film completes 16 years today and that's the perfect reason to look back at senior Bachchan’s appraisal of the movie and his son's performance.
Said Mr Bachchan previously, "My father wrote in his biography, 'When a father loses to his son, it is his greatest victory’. I've lost to my son and I'm the happiest father alive. Abhishek is phenomenal in Guru. I have held myself back on many an occasion from commenting on my son's work, but this time I shall not. To hell with niceties and restraint. Abhishek is incredible!”
Mr Bachchan further added, "I have been choked with emotion ever since I emerged from the theatre and still am. This is a role of a lifetime for him and he has given a performance of a lifetime. It's a role any actor worth his salt would die for and it's a performance that any actor worth his salt will envy."
In Guru (2007), based on the life and aspirations of the legendary entrepreneur Dhirubhai Ambani, Abhishek played the tycoon with a rags-to-riches fervor. He went through the various phase in Dhirubhai’s life mastering the real character’s aging process with admirable precision.
Recalls Abhishek, “This is a character very close to my heart. I poured my heart and soul into it. It was a responsibility that I had to fulfil.”
What about those who thought Abhishek was overshadowed by Aishwarya in Guru? Abhishek’s reply is the coolest. “It's a pleasure to be overshadowed by the most beautiful woman in the world.”
