Your verdict on Abhishek?
His basics are in place. There's not a single actor in the world who would say he has nothing more to learn. Abhishek has his own identity now. He is his own man.
Do you agree that since he's your biggest fan, he tries to be you?
No. The comparison is a media disease. He shares my surname. Genetically, he is my son. There are bound to be similarities. We have many things in common. But any comparison beyond that is odious. But he has to learn to live with comparisons and criticism. Every new artiste is always compared. He cannot escape that.
Why does he have this stress on being a 'good human being'?
If you are a good human being, everything else will fall in place.
Is it true that you trained him?
He may say I did. It's not completely true. Jaya and I didn't have time to sit with him and teach everything we'd learnt in 30-odd years. But yes, we did try...and he shied away from it.
It's said that you could never be spotted on Abhishek's sets?
He's given clear instructions to me not to come. It's his wish. I respect it. Perhaps he's shy. I was a bit embarrassed when I spotted my father on the sets.
Do you think he can dance?
Of course. In fact, there has been a great improvement of late. He is constantly working on it.
You count on him to revive ABCL?
Yes. It'll soon come out with a film with Abhishek and me. The company's gone through a bad phase, I hope the combination will help revive it.
