IT IS RIGHTLY said- Talent will do that what it can, genius has to do what it must. Yes, he is a genius. He has finally proved himself. He is loved, adored and appreciated as the coolest ‘hot guy’ of Bollywood. He brought back the rough masculine look. It took him almost five years to metamorphose into a versatile actor. His natural endowments to act, which must have come from bloodline shows him working with the best and brightest genres of Indian cinema.

 

Abhishek clicked in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva (2004). His performance as Lallan, the angry young man in Yuva was the turning point of his lackluster career then. He never had to look back thereafter. Guru (2007) again by the same director has given him the best ever critical acclaims till yet. Gurubhai seems to be the most likely actor to lead Generation Next. So hectic has 2005 been with 17 flops, with back-to-back successes in Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar and Dus that he had to regretfully refuse a key role in Meera Nair’ s The Namesake.

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The Bluffmaster rocked the theatres not only with his dancing but also by his singing talents. Remember Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai. According to many filmmakers, ‘his timing also appears to be perfect’. Abhishek has shown he can act and dance (evident in Kajra re and Dus Bahane) He matched Amitabh Bachchan’s footsteps admirably in Kajra Re. When AB Junior waves his hands in Guru as Subhash Nagre did in Sarkar, the audience wishes that he should get into the shoes of the Sarkar (the climax of Sarkar suggests). His silence spoke volumes in the movie.

 

The rise of AB Junior proves that a family name helps only for a short time span but to reach the peak one should have the aptitude. Refugee, AB’s debut film was also appreciated as a story of pure love and emotion. However, it is a belated recognition of Abhishek’s talent. Unfortunately, Indian audience prefers mindless candyfloss cinema like Dhoom and Dus to sensible cinema like Refugee, Phir Milenge.

 

Filmmakers are queuing at his office with offers, as he is the new BO darling. AB’s strength is that ‘he is real’. He is never defensive when faced with criticism. The key to Abhishek’s long-term success, probably, is that he is less of a star and more of the character. He has grown with time. He is now worth Rs 2.5 crore, up from Rs 1.5 crore. His fans believe he is perfect blend of a well- brought-up boy and a classic man. Under his belt AB Junior has Shaad Ali’ s Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Pradeep Sarkar’ s Chudiyan, Apoorva Lakhia’s Shootout At Lokhandwala, RamGopal Verma’ s Sarkar 2 and Goldie Behl’ s Drona.

 

The wedding bells are knocking at AB Baby’ s door. The reel-life romance of Rani Mukherji-Abhishek even sparked off rumours of a real-life alliance. However, the queen bee here is the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.