The popularity and legendary achievements of their parents put a lot of pressure on star kids. Abhishek Bachchan is the classic example of having struggled to come out of the shadows of his legendary father Amitabh Bachchan.
The actor called himself the ‘Bachchan of OTT' after the release of his latest film 'Bob Biswas' on Zee5. He says he has been busier in the last six-eight months than he ever was in the last decade.
‘Bob Biswas’ is a spin-off of the character by the same name in the blockbuster 'Kahaani'. While the latest film, directed by Diya Annapurna Ghosh has received a mixed response, Abhishek's performance has garnered praise, once again giving mileage to the belief that he is an underrated actor. Of course, a small section of the audience felt the seasoned actor couldn't carry off the role convincingly despite appearing confident in his body language.
Saswata Chatterjee played Bob Biswas in 'Kahaani'. Even though the character had just eight minutes on screen, it was impactful as Chattrejee was excellent. The character was mysterious and intimidating, convincing people to demand an exclusive movie on it.
When Abhishek was chosen as the lead role for this movie, many were skeptical and some opined that Jr. Bachchan won't be able to recreate Saswata's magic. The comparison is unfair because the context and timeline are totally different in the two films.
The OTT boom has come as a blessing for Abhishek, who never stops trying irrespective of the results. In Netflix's 'Ludo', he played Bittu and was earnest in the father-daughter relationship portion. His split personality act (Dr. Avinash and J) in the web series “Breathe Season 2” was watchable as well though the story went nowhere.
Abhishek isn't a bad actor but his decision making was always questionable. In his 60-odd-movie career, around 10-15 films have tasted success and they were largely multi-starrers. In the likes of 'Dhoom' series and 'Happy New Year', he played second fiddle to stars more popular than him such as Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Though his seniors hogged the limelight, he was always controlled in his performances.
Mani Ratnam is one filmmaker who has trusted Abhishek to carry an entire film on his shoulders, not once but thrice. He told stories of dark characters through Abhishek in 'Yuva' and 'Raavan' but his acting was compared to his regional counterparts in their Tamil version. To be honest, despite giving his all, Abhishek's paled in comparison with the likes of Madhavan in 'Ayutha Ezhuthu' and Vikram in 'Raavanan'. That way he is an 'unlucky' star, as solo releases of such interesting concepts could have helped his career grow.
He came into his own in Mani Ratnam's 'Guru', perhaps his career best performance and his choice of role and acting must be appreciated in 'Dostana'. Cries of nepotism will never stop. The only right way to silence your detractors is by shaping a success story. The 45-year-old appears comfortable doing shows and movies on OTT (The Big Bull). He will wish his second innings will wipe away bitter memories of his career's first phase.