'Ludo will put a smile on everyone's face'

'Every actor has gone through the situation of his work drying up. I am no exception.'

Abhishek Bachchan is very proud of his next film Ludo.

"it is what we need right now," he tells Subhash K Jha.

"God knows, all of us are going through the worst crisis civilisation has faced. I survived COVID, so did my family. There are many who aren't that fortunate. We need a reason to smile. I think Ludo will put that smile on everyone's face," he says.

The actor had a lot of fun shooting it.

"There were many moments when I was just laughing, saying the dialogues. The script sparkles with humour and warmth," he says.

"I had so much fun shooting this. Dada (Director Anurag Basu) gives his actors so much room to improvise. There are no hard-and-fast rules on the sets. All of us did what we wanted. Dada just let us be. In that sense, he is a lot like Hrishikesh Mukhejee, one of my parents's favourite directors."/p>

Anurag Basu is also a favourite of Abhishek's.

"I have been a fan of his work for a long time," he says. "There is a child-like innocence and quirkiness in his cinema and these are also traits in his personality. Dada is like a grownup child."

"Ludo was like going to a party. I remember he had directed Life... In The Metro, another segmented film like Ludo. It is one of my favourite films. We wanted to work with one another but somehow, things did not work out. Finally, we did come together."

Abhishek gives a lot of the credit for his performance in Ludo to his six-year-old co-star, Inaayat Verma.

"She is the most spontaneous co-star I've ever worked with," he says.

"We were all apprehensive about her comfort level, being so young and all. But she came on the sets like a professional. She would tell Dada about eight ways she could do a scene and then do it in the ninth way in the final take. She lit up the set with her presence."

Today, Abhishek finds himself busier then ever before.

"I have four projects ahead and will be shooting all through 2021. I guess a;m fortunate. Every actor has gone through the situation of his work drying up. I am no exception. That I've so much work on hand right now and that too work that excites me is so providential. I am thankful for this phase in my career. I am enjoying it thoroughly."

As for Ludo releasing in the digital platform, Abhishek assumes a philosophical attitude.

"It is the need of the hour, so why not accept it? I am the biggest fan of movie-viewing in a theatre. The darkness, the popcorn, the big screen... nothing can replace that experience. It will come back soon. Until it does, I am happy that Ludo will get many million viewers across the world."