ABHISHEK BACHCHAN STRADDLING BOTH WORLDS

While his previous theatrical release Houseful 5, an out-and-out commercial event film, has become second biggest Bollywood hit of 2025 and is still minting money, his next, Kaalidhar Laapata released on Zee5, is a small-budget heartwarming movie that stuns with its simplicity. The actor, who fits in with equal ease in both the worlds, opens up about what excites him as an actor today

- By Ananya Ghosh

No matter how hard you try, you can't sway me from my belief that Abhishek Bachchan is one of the most underrated actors we have today. Put a camera up close and see what magic this man's eyes can create without moving any limb or spouting a single dialogue. Right from his debut with Refugee (2000), which coincided with the biggest debut Bollywood has ever seen—that of Hrithik Roshan—he has shown potential as not only a formidable actor, and also a versatile one. His 2004 included movies as diverse as Yuva, Naach, and Dhoom—a movie that launched a successful franchise, and he followed it up with Bluffmaster!, Sarkar and Bunty Aur Babli in 2005. So, when in 2025, the actor drops a heartwarming small-budget film on OTT, right on the back of Housefull 5—an out-and-out massy multistarrer event film mounted on a huge budget (apparently, it is Bollywood's most expensive comedy film) which with a total India net collection of Rs 177.25 crore (till the time of going to press) has become second biggest Bollywood hit of 2025 and is still minting money at the box office—one should not be surprised. While in the U/A-rated corny theatrical release replete with adult jokes (that reminds you of the ‘90s Bollywood), Abhishek as the two-faced Jalbhushan has got unequivocal love from all quarters for his boisterous performance, now with