Abhishek Bachchan, who has had more misses than hits in his acting career of ten years, says he had doubts whether he would survive in the Hindi film industry.
"I never thought I would make it through 10 years. I didn't think they would give me a chance," Bachchan — son of seasoned actors Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan — who made a not-so-successful debut with Refugee in 2000, said.
"I didn't think I would get any films after my first film. I genuinely didn't believe it. I haven't really given them any reason to like me or like my work; so why should they spend their time and effort on me?" he said, after being appreciated for his performance as freedom fighter Surjya Sen in Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, which released on Thursday in the UAE.
He added that though he finds acting tough, he has become a better actor in the past decade.
"I find all my films difficult. Acting is very tough. I think you should always challenge yourself with every film. If you don't, then you will start stagnating. I want to do films which will push me every day to work harder; so I find every film harder," he said.
Though Bachchan had a shaky start, he did experience box-office success with hit films like Yuva, Bluffmaster, Dhoom, Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar, Guru and Dostana. "I would like to believe that I learnt a lot. I can definitely say I am a better actor today than I was in Refugee — 100 per cent. If you are not improving with every film, then there is something seriously wrong with you.
"I see my father today — after 40 years in the industry and having done over a hundred films, he still tries to do better than his last performance. That's what you have to keep doing," he said.
All said and done, Bachchan says he is determined to play a long innings. He has a handful of projects up his sleeve, including Game, Dum Maro Dum and Players — all slated for a 2011 release.
