‘I feel I’m still not noticed by many’

In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, actor Abhishek Khan, who made his theatrical debut with Amitabh Bachchan and Rashmika Mandanna starrer Goodbye, opened up about working with several biggies, donning multiple artistic hats, and more.

Tejal Sinha

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet,’ they say. This is something we were thought by our forefathers too. And, today here we bring to you a live example of this motivational phrase.

Abhishekh Khan, the budding actor has been on the path of making his own mark. It would surely not be wrong to say, that it was the Project 9191 actor’s patience, that resulted in him sharing the screen with the legendary Shahenshah of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, in the recent film Goodbye.

The seed for acting for him he said was planted ever since his childhood days. Taking us through it, the Bard of Blood said, “I was fairly young and with time, it only grew intense. What started in 2008, became much stronger in 2013. Somewhere in September 2013, I found myself at Prithvi theatre. I was running away from the few auditions I had given, and I arrived at the theatre wanting to learn, understand, absorb, and better my craft. Then I ran again to do everything possible to reach the stage that I’m at today in my life. I believe I’m from the crowd and the crowd has many more and we shall rise and shine.”

Having given some noteworthy performances with Bard of Blood and Project 9191, alongside some acclaimed actors, he believes that Bard of Blood helped him to learn a lot. On making his debut with the star-studded Goodbye, he says, “ It’s a great feeling indeed. I can say I learned a lot on Bard and that really helped me when I arrived on the sets of Goodbye. I feel things differently and I look at things in a different light and still keep learning and unlearning every day. More than that, I’m happy to be doing what I love the most in my life. Thankful and grateful to God.”

It’s rare to find a newcomer starting off by playing different roles, and then the luckiest are those who get to work with biggies in the industry. “I wasn’t nervous but intimated while doing a scene with Bachchan Sir, because of the stature he holds in our industry and also the standard of craft he imbibes. But he made things pretty easy and viable for me as an actor. With Rashmika, she was more like a friend, very easy to work with,” shares the actor adding, “It feels great. I’m constantly trying my best to stay away from the clichés and at the same time, I try my 1000 percent to look and sound different in every project that I get. I feel I’m still not noticed by a lot, but I’ll keep waiting and working hard. Some do notice.”

Asked, when offered a script, whether he goes with the story or character, he opened up saying, “I don’t get offered actually. People like me wait for an audition and then it’s all about waiting all over again.”

Donning several hats, be it a theatre person, writer, music creator, or actor, he says, “Theatre helped me a lot, but I didn’t do anything great on stage. Also because I landed up at Prithvi (Theatre) at a very young age. Writing hasn’t been something I’m constant with. With music, I tried to heal myself and it did heal and then went off the board too. Digital space? I was an actor and an artist way before anything of the above came into my life. I don’t like to call myself an actor, I still believe there’s a lot to do before I can use that term for myself.”

Talking about the genre that he would like to work in, he says, “I’m fine with anything till the time it resonates with me.”

On the work front, he will next be seen in Lootere, directed by Jai Mehta. Ending the conversation on a lighter note, he signed off by saying, “I can’t reveal much about my character, but the show is shot internationally and has a lot to offer. It’s definitely something that’s not been done in India. The show is majorly based on a ship and there’s a lot around it. Apart from this, there’s a medical drama that will arrive before Lootere. Let’s hope for the best.”