Cop roles, no bait for me, says Abhishek Bachchan

Circa 1973: It was actor Amitabh Bachchan’s cop act in Zanjeer that catapulted him to superstardom. Interestingly, like it did for Amitabh Bachchan, the cop act has always proven to be rather lucky for son Abhishek Bachchan too, be it the successful Dhoom franchise or the recent Rohan Sippy action thriller.

“Yes, it seems to have been lucky so far, but I’ve never thought of it like that,” says Abhishek quickly adding,  “It’s attractive, but no, a cop role cannot become a bait for me,” he smiles. “I’m not going to lap up every cop film that comes my way just because it has clicked with the audiences.” he says. “An actor always looks forward to doing something that challenges him/her and takes them ahead from where their previous role left them. So, even if I play a cop, it will have to be different from the cop that I played in any other movie.” And is dad an inspiration? “It’s impossible to forget paa’s performance as the tough cop,” he admits, “but so far I have not based any of my roles on him.”

Post his recent success, one would’ve expected Abhishek to take a break to celebrate with wife Aishwarya, but seems like that might just have to wait. The actor’s already in Russia shooting for his next action thriller, after which he starts another project. Apparently, Abhishek is still undecided on accompanying Aishwarya to Cannes this year. “Yes, it’s going to be a super hectic schedule ahead. So let’s see,” he says.

Komal Nahta says Abhishek Bachchan is in that league of stars whose marketability will not be affected by hits or flops. He is still very much in demand.

Taran Adarsh mentioned Abhishek has always delivered as an actor, even if his films haven’t worked. He’s still considered a bankable star. The large number of films in his pocket say it all.