Since a much awaited debut in the year 2000 with Refugee, Abhishek Bachchan has survived and how in Bollywood, gracefully accepting both the bouquets with the brickbats for his performances. Having a surname as legendary as Bachchan to live up to isn’t an easy task, but Abhishek has done an impressive job of not cracking under pressure. As the actor turns a year older on 5 February, here’s a quick look at Bachchan Jr’s most scintillating acts over the years.
1. Yuva (2004)
As the temperamental Lallan Singh in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, Abhishek Bachchan was the new age angry young man who exploded on the big screen. Evil, ambitious, ruthless yet vulnerable Bachchan Junior made Lallan’s character menacing and endearing to the audience. This was undoubtedly an actor coming of age which fetched him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor that year.
2. Bunty Aur Babli (2005)
As a small town slacker who dreams big, Abhishek Bachchan revealed that his comic timing was on point with Shaad Ali’s Bunty Aur Babli. As Abhishek’s Rakesh Trivedi joins hands with Rani Mukerji’s Vimmi Saluja to con people and follow their dreams of making it big in Mumbai, the plot thickens. Bunty Aur Babli had Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan acting together for the first time and their on-screen chemistry was just riveting. It was however, the Bachchans along with Aishwarya Rai dancing to Kajra Re... which remains the most memorable act in this film.
3. Guru (2007)
Mani Ratnam joined hands with Abhishek Bachchan once again for Guru. This rags to riches story of a business tycoon (reportedly inspired by the success of Dhirubhai Ambani) saw Abhishek portray Gurukant Desai - from a young and ambitious dreamer to an ageing and ailing billionaire. The actor totally owned the film and his performance drew unanimous accolades from both the critics and the audience.
4. Dostana (2008)
Abhishek Bachchan once again won hearts in this romantic comedy with his intensity and comic timing. This entertaining tale of Abhishek as Sam and John Abraham as Kunal pretending to be gay partners while at the same time attempting to woo desi girl Priyanka Chopra, made Dostana one of the biggest hits of the year and grabbed a Best Actor nomination for Bachchan Junior at the Filmfare Awards.
5. Manmarziyaan (2018)
After a short sabbatical, Abhishek Bachchan returned with a bang to fill the shoes of Robbie Bhatia in Anurag Kashyap’s fiery romance, Manmarziyaan. The simmering intensity of Robbie, who broods and pines while he knows that the love of his life, Rumi, is besotted with another man, is perfectly enacted by Bachchan Junior in this romantic drama. The fact that Amitabh Bachchan was moved to tears by Abhishek’s performance in Manmarziyaan should be testimony enough to let you know how the actor was just impeccable in this role.
Here’s looking forward to many more brilliant acts from this birthday boy!
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