Abhishek Bachchan: I can’t react to her as an actor because it’s maa

Abhishek Bachchan

There is tremendous excitement in the Bachchan household as the family's third generation will begin its innings at the movies. Later this year, Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda will make his acting debut with Zoya Akhtar's The Archies. The newcomer has already made actor-mamu Abhishek Bachchan proud. "We are immensely proud of him. He is such a good boy, he works so hard. I get to learn so much from his work ethic. He takes nothing for granted and that's an amazing quality to have," he begins.

In his 23-year career so far, Abhishek has seen the different facets of showbiz - the highs and lows, the burden of expectations, and the resilience to emerge stronger than it all. The actor, who tries to pass on his wisdom to Nanda, marvels at the openness with which his nephew reacts to his feedback. "I give him honest feedback because that's the way I learnt. My father always told me, ‘I will be brutally honest with you.' But when there's a father-son dynamic, you are a bit on the guard. Agastya is like a sponge; he absorbs everything. He will say, ‘Oh, you don't like this. Why?' I find his way of dealing with feedback amazing," he says, admitting that he is eager to watch The Archies.

There might be some time before he witnesses his nephew in action on screen, but Abhishek thoroughly enjoyed watching mother Jaya Bachchan pull off a grey role in Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. There's a slight difference, though. The son in him is unable to react to the veteran as an actor. "She is the only member of my family whom I don't react to as an actor because it's maa! I am emotional about her. I am sure she doesn't like [this aspect] too much because she is an actor at heart. But to me, she is maa. With my wife [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan], we were co-stars first. So, we have that [actor-to-actor] relationship. With dad too, I manage to [view him] as an actor. But with mom, I am unable to do that."