Abhishek Bachchan gets talking to Shubha ShettY-Saha about comparisons with one childhood buddy, Hrithik Roshan, and being directed by another – Goldie Behl

For those of you who think Abhishek has done a me-too with Drona after Hrithik Roshan's Krrish, Bachchan says that's not true at all. In fact, his Drona is more believable, feels Abhishek.

The just released Drona is about this royal character who takes on a larger-than-life villain, magician Riz Raizada (played by Kay Kay Menon), and is directed by Abhishek's childhood buddy Goldie Behl.

Junior B says, "Drona is not a superhero. He is a normal person who takes on a powerful magician. When Goldie came to me with the script, what attracted me was the fact that the man doesn't have any magical powers. All he has is lot of courage. Many movies have been made, like Superman, Batman, even Krrish, where the hero has super powers. People would look at them, but they couldn't believe them. I wanted people to believe that what Drona can do, so can they. I don't want people to look up to the character and think: ‘I can never do that’."

Since good friend Goldie was at the helm of the affairs, one would think making the film would have been a cake-walk. Abhishek says it wasn't that easy. "Any character you play, you are playing with emotions. A director needs to know how to extract the emotion. And if you know the actor very well, it is that much easier. Plus, there is no ego between friends. However, these issues could work against you. At times, when I didn't agree with Goldie, I would just go and tell him that in front of others. But he is the director and I am the actor, and it’s not my business to tell him how to do his job. But for me, it is very tough to separate personal and professional relationships. Many a times, the line becomes a blur and I do and say what I feel like. Our relationship is very strong but he could get upset about something. But I would understand where he is coming from."

He would. Bachchan and Behl, as childhood buddies, loved fantasy comics. Their favourite? "Supremo!" says Abhishek. "In the 80s there was this comic book introduced in which the main character, Supremo, was made to look like dad. We both absolutely loved reading them. But later, it got discontinued."
s_shubha@dnaindia.net