Filmmaker Mani Ratnam's "Raavan" is slated to hit
the screens June 18. The bilingual, co-produced by Reliance
BIG Pictures and Madras Talkies, features Aishwarya Rai as a
dance teacher who is happily married to a cop, played by Tamil
superstar Vikram, and shows how Abhishek's character Beera spoils
that tranquillity in their lives.
Commenting upon his role, Abhishek said: "It's very exciting
to get roles where you can push yourself and challenge yourself
to do a role you have not attempted before. I'm happy that I'm
doing different roles, I'll be really bored if I had to do the
same thing every day."
Earlier Ratnam had given Abhishek two of his memorable roles
in "Yuva" and "Guru" and now "Raavan"
is their third outing together. The actor shares a great comfort
level with the director who understands him and his potential
very well.
"I share a great comfort level with Mani. As far as I'm
concerned, I can do anything for him. I also feel that Mani
understands me and my potential as an actor more than even I
do. I think that's one major reason that two of the most memorable
films I have done have been with Mani," he said.
"'Raavan' is a wonderful film and I'm very proud of it.
I feel this is Mani's most commercial film till date. I'm happy
with the way it's turned out. Mani has outdone himself. It is
drastically different from his other films, which is a challenge,
especially when the same team comes together."
The actor was also offered the Tamil version of the film, but
he declined due to the language problem.
"I was offered a role in the Tamil version as well. I
had said yes initially, but when I read the draft, I realised
this is not happening. I told Mani that I can't do the Tamil
version because I don't know the language.
"I realised that my performance will become very mechanical.
If you don't understand what you are saying, you can't give
a good performance," he said.
After "Raavan", many big films, including "Khelein
Hum Jee Jaan Sey", "Game", "Dum Maro Dum"
and "Dostana 2" will keep Abhishek busy for a year.