‘Winning an Award on My Father’s Birthday… Couldn’t Ask for More’: Abhishek Bachchan

Abhishek Bachchan who portrayed real-life cancer survivor Arjun Das, spoke soon after the event. “I’m very happy to be honoured for a performance that wasn’t seen by as many people as my director Shoojit Sircar and I would have liked,” said Abhishek. “And to win it on my father’s birthday — I couldn’t ask for more. I’m also very happy to share it with Kartik Aaryan, who was outstanding in Chandu Champion.”

Reflecting on his performance, Abhishek credited his director entirely.

“The entire credit goes to Shoojit Sircar. I’ve just been a puppet in his hands,” he said. “We didn’t do conventional script readings. Instead, we spent two or three months just talking — about life, philosophy, spirituality. I later realised he was trying to understand me as a person, so he could mould how my character, Arjun Das, would think and behave. It was a wonderfully new approach.”

Playing Arjun has left a deep impact on Abhishek. “When you witness the persistence and tenacity that Arjun Das had through his life, it becomes easy to portray him,” Abhishek said. “His journey is truly inspirational, and once you connect with that, the performance flows naturally.”