Anurag Kashyap Recounts Working With Abhishek Bachchan

In a new interview, Anurag Kashyap discussed his collaboration with actor Abhishek Bachchan. Abhishek, according to the filmmaker, was "quite brattish" during his early years in the film industry. He also remembers working with Amitabh Bachchan on the television show Yudh and requesting the legendary actor to tone down his performance. Amitabh 'takes criticism well,' according to Anurag.

Anurag Kashyap collaborated with Abhishek on Yuva (2004) as a dialogue writer and Manmarziyaan as a director (2018). Anurag claimed that the actor did not 'take things seriously' the first time they worked together. However, the Abhishek he worked with in Manmarziyaan was 'completely different'. Mani Ratnam's Yuva starred Abhishek alongside Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, and Esha Deol. Manmarziyaan had Abhishek alongside Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal. "We (Abhishek and Anurag) worked together on Yuva. I wrote the dialogue for that film. My brother was also an AD on it, and we worked quite a bit with Abhishek on the dubbing of that film as well... He’s a very hard-working person. He’s cultured and loves food. But he was very brattish in the beginning. He’d make fun of everything, not take things seriously. But people grow, and he grew. That Abhishek and the Abhishek I worked with on Manmarziyaan are two entirely different people," he said in the interview. Anurag also recounted Amitabh's reaction to being advised to tone down his performance in Yudh. "He takes criticism well. I noticed that he was delivering a typical Amitabh Bachchan-style performance. And I wanted something more real, and this is what I told him," Anurag stated. Yudh's creative director was Anurag. Sarika, Zakir Hussain, Mona Wasu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Kay Kay Menon also appeared. Yudh debuted in 2014 on Sony Entertainment Television. On February 3, Anurag's next film, Almost Pyaar, starring DJ Mohabbat, was released. Anurag's musical romantic drama, written and directed by him, stars Alaya F and rookie Karan Mehta.