Abhishek Bachchan on 20 years of Naach, "It's by far Ram Gopal Varma's most personal film"

November 12, 2004 is known as the date on which Veer-Zaara and Aitraaz clashed. The date also saw the re-release of the colour version of the classic Mughal-e-Azam. But Ram Gopal Varma’s Naach also released on the same day and it starred Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and Antara Mali. As the film completed 20 years, Abhishek looks back at it in an interview with us.

Naach remains your most underrated performance to date

During Naach, Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) continuously said to me, “You’re the actor. You do the acting. I’m the director. Let me do the direction.” He let me do what I instinctively felt like doing in each shot. He never wanted anything extra, only what the scene required. He gave so much freedom to me as an actor that it scared me. I once felt I was being indulgent in a shot. He told me to do what I wanted; he’d take care of it. Such confidence from the director is a great boost for the actor. So yeah, Naach is special.

Ramu let you have a free hand in interpreting the character?

Ramu involves the junior-most actor in every department of the film from costumes to music and editing. He takes everyone’s advice and incorporates it if he likes it, otherwise tells them off in their faces. Another thing that I learnt from Ramu was to never leave a shot. He never said ‘cut’ during Naach. So, an actor continues into the next scene even when the camera is switched off. These small-small things go a long way, and you learn a lot. Though he let me do my own thing, he was always there to manoeuvre me. With Ramu you always know where you stand. He’s very honest. Everything on the set is work-related.

Ramu thinks you’re as good an actor as your father

(laughs) He’s just being sweet. I don’t believe it. Naach is a very important film for what it has taught me. He has a great reputation to live up to. And as far as I’m concerned, he has lived up to that reputation in Naach.

Naach was released along with Veer-Zaara, Aitraaz and Mughal-e-Azam?

Naach never intended to take on these films. It’s got its own, what the French call, raison d’etre, unmotivated by competitive factors. Ramu and his distributors felt that was the right time to release Naach.

Your closing thoughts on Naach?

I feel it’s by far Ramu’s most personal film. It touches on his ideals and principles as a creative person. Naach wasn’t an expensive film. But it reflected its director’s beliefs.

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