Abhishek Bachchan Recalls Struggle to Start His Career in Films with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

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Abhishek Bachchan and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra wanted to make Samjhauta Express to start their careers together, but the film never got made.

Abhishek Bachchan has been taking a look back at his career, posting about his films year by year on Instagram. Amid the raging debate on nepotism in the industry, the actor has talked about his struggles in securing a launchpad in Bollywood.

While posting about the films he did in the year 2009, Abhishek spoke about the struggle he and filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra went through. The two did the film Delhi 6, nine years after Abhishek made his debut with Refugee in 2000.

In a long post on Instagram, Abhishek wrote, "Many don't know that in 1998 @rakeyshommehra and I wanted to start our film careers together. Him directing me in a script we both worked on called 'Samjhauta Express'. Both not able to get anyone to launch us despite trying very hard. I forget how many producers and directors I met and requested to give me an opportunity to act. But to no avail! We both were friends and decided that we would develop something that Rakeysh could direct and I would act in and that's how Samjhauta Express was conceived."

He continued, "Alas, the film never got made (a regret we still have in our hearts). Rakeysh went on to make Aks with my father and I was luckily spotted by JP saab. He liked my 'look', I had grown my hair long and a beard for SE. JP saab was thinking of making Akhri Mughal (a historical) and was on the lookout for a young fresh face... I got lucky. He never made Akhri Mughal but made Refugee instead."

"Over 10 years later Rakeysh and I finally managed to work together in the beautiful and still oh-so-relevant Delhi 6. Such a beautiful cast. We were all like one big family, always together even after wrap. Great senior actors that I could have only dreamt of acting with. Such a special experience. @sonamkapoor in only her second film. My second with the stunning Waheda Rehman aunty. And my first with an actor I was always a fan of and was praying I would get the opportunity to work with. Mr. Rishi Kapoor. Although Chintu uncle and I had just a few scenes together, they were so memorable to shoot!"

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#Roadto20 Year-2009 #Delhi6 #Paa Many don’t know that in 1998 @rakeyshommehra and I wanted to start our film careers together. Him directing me in a script we both worked on called “Samjhauta Express”. Both not able to get anyone to launch us despite trying very hard. I forget how many producers and directors I met and requested to give me an opportunity to act. But to no avail! We both were friends and decided that we would develop something that Rakeysh could direct and I would act in and that’s how Samjhauta Express was conceived. Alas, the film never got made ( a regret we still have in our hearts ). Rakeysh went on to make Aks with my father and I was luckily spotted by JP saab. He liked my “look”, I had grown my hair long and a beard for SE. JP saab was thinking of making Akhri Mughal ( a historical ) and was on the lookout for a young fresh face... I got lucky. He never made Akhri Mughal but made Refugee instead. Over 10 years later Rakeysh and I finally managed to work together in the beautiful and still oh-so-relevant Delhi 6. Such a beautiful cast. We were all like one big family, always together even after wrap. Great senior actors that I could have only dreamt of acting with. Such a special experience. @sonamkapoor in only her second film. My second with the stunning Waheda Rehman aunty. And my first with an actor I was always a fan of and was praying I would get the opportunity to work with. Mr. Rishi Kapoor. Although Chintu uncle and I had just a few scenes together, they were so memorable to shoot! Paa, saw me reunite with my Pa! Our 6th film together. My first with Balki and second with @balanvidya also my first film as a Producer. It was such a unique concept and so sensitively handled. Only by the quirky mind of Balki! The film went on to great box-office success and won several awards for everyone. We also managed to win 3 National Film awards. @amitabhbachchan for best actor, Arundhati Ji for supporting actress and yours truly, as producer, for best film (Hindi) all of it entirely due to Balki. None of it would have been possible without his vision and conviction. I’m told dad and I even hold a Guinness book of world record for our film.
A post shared by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan) on Jun 21, 2020 at 10:08am PDT