[Watch] When Abhishek Bachchan Had To Make Tea On The Set

Screen grab of Abhishek Bachchan's interview with Galatta Plus.

New Delhi: Amitabh Bachchan has often spoken about the times when the family faced a financial crunch due to his ABCL running into losses. Little does anyone know about the support young Abhishek Bachchan gave to his father at that time and the sacrifice he had to make for his family.

Abhishek recently opened up about the “rough time” his family faced before his Bollywood debut. Abhishek made his big screen debut with the 2000 film, Refugee. In a roundtable discussion with Galatta Plus, Abhishek said, “I left my college and came back. My father (Amitabh Bachchan) was going through a bit of a rough time financially. He had opened a company which had racked up a lot of losses. So I said, ‘I need to be around my father.'” Abhishek then talked about how he even worked as a production boy for Gautam Berry and made tea on the set. Abhishek, who always aspired to be an actor, added that no director was ready to take on the responsibility of launching Amitabh Bachchan’s son.

Abhishek Bachchan also revealed how he and his friend, Rakesh Mehra, decided to take matters into their own hands and wrote a script, which was ultimately rejected by Amitabh Bachchan.

Talking about the financial crisis, Abhishek Bachchan shared, “Filmfare, 20 years ago, you planned like months in advance ki kya pehen ke jayenge [ That what you will wear.] Make sure you aren’t shooting that day…Khareedna padta tha, un dino me koi deta nahi tha kapde [One had to purchase, and no one sent clothes those days.] It was a big thing. The entire industry showed up. Filmfare and screen were the only big awards then, before this plethora of awards. It was an occasion. It was a huge honour. I said, ‘What to wear?’ I know it sounds weird. I didn’t have that many clothes, and we couldn’t afford to. We were going through a rough time, and trying to be as frugal as you could be.”