Actor Abhishek Bachchan said that he often uses humour as a defence mechanism in life, because he can’t control every aspect of his experiences. He said that presented with the option of feeling like a victim and whining about his difficulties, he would choose to move on with a smile on his face. In a chat with his I Want to Talk director Shoojit Sircar, Abhishek also reflected on his character in the film, who is diagnosed with cancer and given 100 days to live. The character is based on a real-life friend of Shoojit’s.
Recalling something that the person told him about having cancer, Abhishek said in the interaction, “We were in the outskirts of Los Angeles, where we shot a part of the film, and he told me, ‘It’s not a very happy marriage, but it’s a marriage’. And I found that’s such a nice way of thinking about cancer. I said, ‘Why do you say that?’ And he said, ‘Till death do us apart’. I found that so amazing. You’re married till death do you apart. Why would you not want to delve deeper into a character like this?”
During the conversation, Shoojit remarked that he was surprised to observe that Abhishek had a wicked sense of humour while working on the film. Drawing comparisons to his character, Abhishek explained, “We’re both very facetious. Being facetious is when you try and make light of a very serious situation. But a lot of the time, somebody who is being facetious is doing so because that’s their defence mechanism. Life is what it is. You realise very quickly that you don’t have the ability or the power to change too much about it. You have to learnt to just cope with it. There’s a famous saying, ‘You can’t run from the wind, you just have to trim your sails and carry on’.”
Abhishek said that he has used ‘lightheartedness’ to make life’s bitter tonics easier to swallow. He said that he connected with the character over certain shared philosophies. “Bhai, abhi yeh situation hai. Ya toh main roun, ya main haste haste jeewan kaatu (This is the situation. I can either whine about it, or I can carry on with a smile on my face). I believe in that. I like to look at the brighter of life, as an individual. I’d like to believe that I’m a very positive person. Being negative isn’t going to get you anywhere, even if the situation is completely against you and the odds are completely stacked against you. If you’re positive about it, at least you see something hopeful.”
Abhishek that he found the character’s journey ‘inspiring’, and that it made him realise, “What am I worried about, why am I lamenting my life? Look at what other people are dealing with.” I Want to Talk will be released in theatres on Friday.
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