Abhishek Bachchan is one of the most popular actors in Bollywood. In a long career span, he has not only been a part of various path-breaking films but has also proved his versatility with content-driven films. From Ghoomer, Dasvi to Paa, the list of films defining his craft goes on and on.
However, many of you might be surprised to know that the actor was offered Rang De Basanti, but he declined the offer due to a narrative challenge faced by the director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s side.
Abhishek Bachchan calls Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra ‘world’s worst narrator’
In a recent appearance at Hindi Actors Roundtable on Galatta Plus, Abhishek Bachchan recalled how he was offered Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti, but he couldn’t comprehend the narrative of the film.
During the interview, the actor talked about how before their respective debut films in the late 90s, he and Rakeysh established the script of a period film which was titled Samjhauta Express.
He went on to reveal that they even pitched the script to his father, Amitabh Bachchan with the hope that he would back the film, however, it was after the narration he realized that Rakeysh is the ‘world’s worst narrator’. He stated, “Just read his script, never get a narration from him. He will confuse you, which he did to me during Rang De Basanti. I didn’t understand why are they cutting from time zone to time zone.
He further continues by sharing, “It was called Painted Yellow in those days. I said, ‘Mujhe samajh nahi aayi, mujhe nahi karni’ (I didn’t get it, I don’t want to do it). Then he made Rang De Basanti. Next time he came for Delhi-6, I said, ‘Han, kar lo.’ (Ya, let’s do it) I didn’t even read the script,” Abhishek shared during the interview.
During the interview, the actor talked about his friendship with Rakeysh which developed as the latter used to do commercials with his father and that’s how their friendship was developed. Talking about Samjhauta Express, the actor shared that the duo worked on the script of the film for a couple of months.
In the film, he plays a terrorist who comes in search of his father, who’s been taken away from him as a child. Upon Rakeysh’s recommendation, he even grew his hair and beard.
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