Abhishek Bachchan opens up on 25 years of Refugee
Abhishek Bachchan opens up on 25 years of Refugee
The year 2025 is unforgettable for Abhishek Bachchan.
He completes multiple professional milestones this year. The month June 30 signifies his 25 years as his debut film, JP Dutta’s Refugee, released on that date way back in 2000. The romantic drama also served as the launch pad for Kareena Kapoor.
Over a media interaction, Abhishek discussed the week in which Refugee premiered, how he has transformed over the last 25 years, and what he missed on working on a film set in the early 2000s.
He has vivid memories on the release of Refugee. He was on shoot for Shararat in Manali in 2002. It was a huge set with 15 actors, so couldn’t jet down to Mumbai on 29 June 2000 ahead of Refugee release on 30 June.Those days, promotions weren’t as extensive, although he must admit Bebo (Kareena Kapoor, co-star) and he were the first ones to start the city tour. They also
had an audio launch earlier, after which he left for the outdoor shoot.
JP Dutta screened the film to the families for the first time on 29th. Obviously, he couldn’t sleep that night because there were a lot of nerves and excitement. It rained on the day of the premiere.
Everybody panicked because the premiere was at Liberty Cinema (in South Mumbai), but he said it’s auspicious because rain on a big day like this is considered God’s blessing.
We drove in about three-four cars because there were so many of his family and close friends. He drove to Liberty with his chachaji (Ajitabh Bachchan) and friend Sikandar (Kher, actor). All the mandirs that came on the way from his home in Juhu to Liberty, he just stopped by for a quick blessing. Before reaching, JP Dutta called him and said he hadn’t reached, but asked him to take care of the premiere. He panicked because it was his first time. When he reached, it was so wonderful because the entire film industry had shown up. That relaxed him because being someone who’s born in the film industry, they’re all extended family. They were all there with big smiles. The walk from the Liberty gate to the stairs felt like a gauntlet. The first person he met was Yash Chopra, who gave him a big hug and great advice.
After the premiere, there was a dinner and party. That became a long night. He drove back home with Sikandar at seven in the morning. They stopped by at Marine Drive and sat there just to take in the moment that the film was going to release. Unfortunately, he had to return to Manali the next day so couldn’t enjoy much of it. But when he was getting ready, got a call that the flight has been cancelled due to bad weather, so had two more days in Mumbai. Got excited and called up Bebo. She said, “Let’s go to the theatres.” So went to Gaiety Galaxy and Chandan Cinema, which unfortunately is not there anymore. It was terribly exciting! They had to be locked in the projector room because the audience got to know they were there. He still gets gooseflesh talking about it.
However he feels his his features have remained constant and he likes to believe everything else has transformed. Because it’s very important for an actor to, if not film on film, but year on year, to improve, learn something new, and do it a bit differently. That’s been his quest, to a certain extent. Hope hope he managed to evolve as an artiste. The audience, the tastes and the movies also change, so should the actor. He attempted to do that, but it’s up to the audience to decide whether they accept that or not.
It’s a very different industry from when they first started. It’s far more mechanical in the sense that it’s very professional. Twenty-five years ago, it was more about relationships and doing films because someone had asked to. “Chal jayega” was the way.
As of today, it’s a lot more regimented and organized. But there’s a great charm to how it happened in the old days. He misses that quite a bit, especially whilst making a film. There was a family atmosphere. Now, the AD (Assistant Director) is on to you: Lunch break finished, get back in. That’s also great because it makes us efficient and cost-conscious. But he feels somewhere, they have traded the fun family-ness of that time.
News Edit KV Raman
