Abhishek Bachchan is an actor, producer, rapper, and fashion icon. He's been in Bollywood for the past two decades and has considerably impacted cinema through his tenure.
Even though some might see him as a privileged kid who has had it easy, many forget his tough beginnings. For the first three years, many of his films were panned critically, and they judged his acting harshly. He kept grinding at his craft and found commercial and critical success in 2004 by movies like Bunty aur Babli and Yuva. He reached career peaks with movies like Guru, which solidified him as one of the best actors.
He then saw another downturn in the 2010s as many once again wrote him off with the Raavan movie getting panned. He was part of big commercial movies and found success as co-lead before taking a break to re-energize himself. People saw him as an actor who's done, but yet once again, he rose and proved his critics wrong. Movies like Manmarziyaan, Ludo once again brought him much love and appreciation.
The journey of Bachchan has been one of great highs and lows, but one thing that doesn't die is his fighter spirit. He lives by the quote of his favorite movie Rocky:
"It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."
The relationship between father and son is often like two trees; a child either steps out of it or lives below it.
The harder the shadow is, the more someone can crumble under the weight of it. Amitabh Bachchan has paved a legacy for their children that cannot be toppled even with ten lifetimes of work. Abhishek has often talked about the instances where he's felt humbled or downright crushed under the weight of it.
When his first film was released, one woman came up to him and said that you're destroying the family's legacy. He once recounted returning home from after a big success party, feeling top of the world and then meeting his father. It gave him a reminder of his father's legacy and the virtue of being humble.
Even with all the family burden and a merciless world, Abhishek is mature and respectful. He has worked tirelessly to have a unique identity and meaningful contribution to the cinema, stepping out of his father's shadow.
People tend to focus on his failures, and if you study his filmography, you'll find some gems of movies.
Yuva: This is one of Mani Ratnam's most interesting movies because of its non-parallel storytelling. Abhishek completely steals the show in this movie by tapping into a new level of rage and using his intimidating presence. This was the movie that put him on the map and changed people's opinions.
Bluffmaster: Abhishek plays a con man in this comic caper movie. He managed to impress everyone by being suave and by his impeccable comic timing.
He has impeccable timing and a charm; the mid-2000s generation kid can never forget his incredible rap in the song Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu Hai.
Guru: This was Abhishek at his actor's peak, and with the masterful direction by Mani Ratnam, this movie changed the game. He was the first Hindi mainstream actor that transformed himself into the character and punched above his weight by channeling Brando. This is the riskiest role for any actor to take, and he created a memorable performance.
Manmarziyaan: To understand Abhishek Bachchan's growth as an actor, one has to talk about Manmarziyaan. Early in his career, he played many stoic characters in Rom Coms and was mercilessly mocked for it.
In this role, he once revisited the same character, but with years of experience, he managed to surprise everyone. There's angst and passion in his performance that blew everyone away.
Beyond being a brilliant actor, he is one of the most fashion-forward, cool, hip people representing modern India. The man has deep emotional thoughts, but also at the same time, he's the guy you can party with at 2 am. He is funny, relatable, and has an amazing Twitter account where he actively engages with his fans.
