Shararat, which released on July 12 in 2002, is a film close to Abhishek Bachchan’s heart. At the time of release the actor had told this writer, “After seeing it every son would want to go and hug his parents. It’s directed by my friend Gurudev Bhalla. We went to Manali and finished 90 per cent of the film in 50 days. It’s a wonderful script. I play a young man who gets sentenced to one week of community service and is sent to an old folks’ home. I play an urban character for a change. A typical Mumbai boy, a brat. His experiences change him.”
InShararat, Abhishek got a chance to work with a whole lot of seasoned actors like Amrish Puri, Dara Singh, Daisy Irani, Helen, Viju Khote and his sister Shubha Khote, AK Hangal saab and Om Puri.
Said Abhishek, “It was a huge cast. I got to learn so much from them. It was great fun. I think it’s essential to keep learning from talented seniors. It helps you to improve your performance. You might feel you’re doing fine. But your self-opinion may be biased. Such actors help you to know where you’re going wrong. It's very important to be fluent in your performance.”
Abhishek played Rahul, who is a spoilt son of a very rich man. Said Abhishek, “I won’t call my character rebellious. But he has a very devil-may-care attitude to everything he does in life. He’s very bad with authority and just loves to do his own thing. Quite a brat, this Rahul. My character in Shararat is disciplined by his mother. But his father lets him have his way arguing he has worked hard to let his son be happy. Rahul ends up in serious trouble with the law on his 21st birthday. His gift of the gab can’t get him out of this one. Hrishitaa [Bhatt], who plays a journalist, convinces the judge to let me do community service instead of serving a sentence in jail. It's very much part of our legal system, though not many people know about it. We did research on the subject before plunging into the film. What I like about Shararat is, it once again gives me a chance to play a character who evolves in the course of the story. It’s very interesting to play characters who grow.”
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Abhishek loved working with the veterans. “At first, I was petrified to be working with stalwarts like Helen Aunty and Viju Khoteji. Of course, I knew some of them like Dara Singhji and Hangal Saab on a personal level. Tinu Uncle (Tinu Anand) is of course a close family friend. I was the junior-most member of the cast. I thought they’d eat me for lunch. Who was I to stand up in front of them? I felt I wasn’t worthy of the honour. But you know what? I came back from my 45-day outdoor in Manali with some good friends. They pampered me and cooked for me. They helped me with my lines. It was like being with my family. It was such a moving experience. Really, I had an unbelievably easy time shooting for Shararat. The minute the camera was on we could see Helen Aunty, Dara Singhji and all the other veterans transform into magical figures. Their confidence was so contagious.”
Abhishek had special words of praise for Helen. “Helen Aunty is a dream. She’s such a wonderful person and so sweet. I’ve admired her from my childhood. And now I had this opportunity to work with her. The same was true of Hangal Saab, Tinu Uncle, Amrish Puriji. I kept warning myself, ‘Listen, don’t mess it up. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’ It was really an unforgettable experience for me.”