New Delhi based Senior League Journalist turned entrepreneur Abhishek Bachchan, Founder Executive Director and Secretary General of All India Achievers Conference, says “being ordinary is just not my cup of tea”, and in the same breath he adds, “I’m the ultimate perfection of human love, rising above time. I’m the cynosure of all eyes. I’m me. I’m Abhishek Bachchan”. Such a statement coming from any other young man would probably be summarily dismissed as uttered by someone with an ego of the size of an overgrown pumpkin. True, the words do smack of arrogance. But a closer look at the man in question and a peep into his chequered past, one would perhaps begin to doubt the righteousness of one’s own hastily formed opinion.
The outward appearance is marked by a cynical smile, an arrogant nod of the head and a `get it or get out’ kind of an attitude. But these personality traits have bloomed from selfconfidence, a resolute determination and an iron will to make it to the top, come what may.
When Bachchan speaks, the scarcely hidden pride and the suave self-assurance of a man who knew his goal and how to go about achieving it clearly comes, others stop and take notice of this man who though seems like them, yet he is so different.
Abhishek is truly a self-made man. Born without, the proverbial silver spoon, he dared to dream of rising above the average man’s humdrum existence. And these dreams, even though distant at one time, had a definite shape. So, while the world laughed at them and even sagaciously cajoled him to snap out of this dreamland, he ignored them to steadily but surely move towards their realization.
Abhishek started his career as a Producer in Bollywood. Just as he was beginning to find his feet in this rather shaky world, he suffered a serious blow. He was cheated of his entire savings worth several lakhs of rupees. Dejected and heartbroken, it would have been very easy for Bachchan to spend the rest of his life wallowing in self-pity. But not so for this man. He rose with greater determination, a heavier thump and begin the journey with longer strides and surer steps.
This time he chose to make a new beginning in a highly competitive and cut throat profession of journalism. Professional and old hands in the field ignored this new entrant into the arena and decried his writing as `amateurish’ And then there was a sudden THUD! Abhishek Bachchan had landed fair and square in the middle of the journalistic limelight. Within 6 months of his entry, he had covered the long and arduous journey to bag the ‘Upcoming Journalist of the Year Award’ for 1984. It was a well-deserved pat on the back.
From then on, there has been no reason for Abhishek to relive his clays of adversity and hardships. Today he is safety ensconced in his niche as a reputed film journalist, though he dabbles in other kind of writings too. For a man who was pitted against such odds and who could still keep his spirit alive, it may not be considered blasphemous to say. “My determination is stronger than destiny”. And if this shows hues of arrogance that irks, one cannot just shrug away the genuine pride of this real achiever. One has to admit that there lies a hard truth beneath the genuine pride of this real achiever. And this is the stuff Abhishek Bachchan is made of – blunt frankness and unmasked arrogance grown on unalloyed professional competence.
In his own words, “I am not a Senior League Journalist for nothing. It’s been 45 years now ever since I forayed into the realms of Journalism in 1979. I was a fire brand journalist and still am, but a bit sobered and mellowed down keeping in mind my close rapport and friendship with many a Bollywood celeb whose citadel I wouldn’t like to shake with my exposes. I have been privy and have seen their closet more than anyone else”.
He further adds “I have written for more than hundreds of prominent dailies, weeklies and monthly newspapers and magazines having started with ‘Film Mirror’ and ‘Indian Observer’ with my published articles since 1979. My published work itself speaks. ‘Film Mirror’ in particular was one of the most dreaded publications and most of the celebrities would piss in their pants when it reached the stalls. People want more of me as a prolific journalist but my body of work lately, and in sum toto, speaks volumes about me as the pioneer.
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