Abhishek Bachchan Recalls Being Ignored Before Dhoom’s Success: ‘Walked Into Lobby, No One Looked’

Abhishek Bachchan, who made his acting debut in 2000 with Refugee, opened up about the rollercoaster journey he’s experienced in the film industry. As the son of Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek entered the industry with high expectations—but success didn’t come easy. A string of flops followed his debut, pushing him to the brink of quitting.

In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Abhishek recalled the emotional lows of being overlooked in public spaces. “Actors are very fragile people. We put on this exterior, but actually, we’re like scared children,” he said. “You walk into a hotel lobby and expect someone to come for an autograph—and then, nobody comes. You swallow that, and you keep going.”

Things changed dramatically after the release of Dhoom in 2004, which turned out to be a blockbuster. Abhishek described how, just months after being ignored, the same hotel lobby came to a standstill upon his arrival. “You only value that because you’ve been at the other end. And because you’ve been at the other end, you never want to go back there, so you work even harder.”

He also shared a valuable piece of advice that Hrithik Roshan whispered to him that night: “Till now it was nothing. Your problems start now. Now you have something to lose.” Abhishek said those words have stayed with him ever since.

The actor credited his setbacks for giving him perspective and motivation. “The foundation stone of success is laid on the ground of failure,” he said.

Abhishek’s mother, Jaya Bachchan, had reflected on similar struggles in Khalid Mohamed’s book To Be or Not To B: Amitabh Bachchan. She noted that both Amitabh and Abhishek had their phases of doubt, but she always believed those were temporary. Years later, Abhishek would admit he nearly quit acting before being encouraged by his father to stay the course.