When Amitabh Bachchan asked Rang De Basanti director to get out, said 'kya bakwas script hai'

Abhishek Bachchan's cinematic debut occurred in 2000 alongside Kareena Kapoor in Refugee, a significant event owing to his lineage. Less known is his co-penned script, Samjhauta Express, intended as his launch vehicle with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra as director, vehemently dismissed by Amitabh Bachchan, as Abhishek revealed during a Galatta Plus roundtable.

Initial rejection by directors

Abhishek Bachchan talks about the challenges he faced while trying to secure his debut in the film industry during the early 2000s. Despite the buzz around his entry, directors were hesitant to take the responsibility of launching him. In a candid discussion during the Hindi Actors Roundtable on Galatta Plus, Abhishek revealed the disappointing response he received from filmmakers.

Abhishek Bachchan's struggle for debut

Abhishek shared his arduous journey of getting cast in his debut film. He recounted working on a period film called "Samjhauta Express" alongside ad filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Despite growing facial hair and investing in the role, when they pitched the project to his father Amitabh Bachchan's banner ABCL, Amitabh dismissed the script as unsatisfactory, terming it ‘bakwas.’

“Anybody who has narrated a film to my father knows it is a scary thing because he doesn’t react. He just sits there quietly and listens. So we were prepared for that. I remember we narrated the whole script and there was silence afterwards. That’s when I realised Rakeysh is the world’s worse narrator so just read the script, never get a narration from him, he will confuse you,” Abhishek said.

What did Amitabh say to Abhishek?

After a long silence, Amitabh looked at them and said, “Boys, bahut hi bakwaas script hai.” He added that Amitabh asked him to ‘get out.’ “We got really demoralised. Rakeysh went off and he was very upset and I think he took it rather badly and opened a bottle of rather strong stuff and he penned down something. Next day he called me and said, ‘I have written something and I am vengence writing. I’ve written a script called Good vs Evil.’ Which then went on to become Aks. He wrote it as kunus,” Abhishek revealed.

Unexpected turn of events for Abhishek

However, fate took a turn when Abhishek accompanied his father to the Filmfare Awards, catching the eye of filmmaker JP Dutta, who approached him for a role in his upcoming project. Though the initially proposed Mughal descendant film didn't come to fruition, Dutta eventually cast Abhishek in the 2000 film Refugee opposite Kareena Kapoor, marking his impactful debut.

Abhishek Bachchan's road to stardom was paved with rejections, unexpected encounters, and the twists of destiny that eventually led to his breakthrough in the film industry.