Veteran actress was ordered by director to imagine a family member dead for a scene. Son recalls: 'That's what actors...'

Performing on screen often requires actors to dig deep into painful emotions, and sometimes the process leaves lasting effects. In a conversation with E Times, actor Abhishek Bachchan shared a striking memory involving his mother, the acclaimed actress Jaya Bachchan, and how a particular film scene left her shaken.

Jaya Bachchan’s Challenging Return to Cinema

After taking a long break from films, Jaya Bachchan made her return in the 1990s with director Govind Nihalani’s acclaimed drama Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa. At that time, Abhishek was working behind the camera as an assistant director. He recalled how his mother returned home deeply unsettled after filming an emotionally intense sequence.

The Disturbing Direction Behind a Scene

Abhishek recounted that his mother had to perform a scene where the character identifies her son’s lifeless body. To capture the gravity of the moment, Nihalani gave her a very specific instruction—he asked her to imagine that the body she was recognizing was not just her character’s son, but Abhishek himself. This direction, while powerful, left Jaya visibly disturbed. Abhishek noted that such instructions may sound severe, but they highlight the reality of the acting profession—where personal experiences and emotions are often interwoven into performances to make them authentic.

“This sounds really harsh, but that’s what actors go through. Even if he had not said that, that’s what she would have imagined to make that emotion real..." he said.

He further reflected that much of an actor’s work is shaped by the director’s vision, often leaving performers feeling like instruments guided by someone else’s command.

Current Professional Updates

On the career front, Abhishek Bachchan was most recently featured in the ZEE5 film Kaalidhar Laapata, where he starred opposite Nimrat Kaur and Daivik Baghela. He is presently engaged in the filming of Siddharth Anand’s action drama King, which also stars Shah Rukh Khan and his daughter Suhana Khan. The much-anticipated film is scheduled for release in 2027.

Meanwhile, Jaya Bachchan was last seen in filmmaker Karan Johar’s 2022 romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, sharing screen space with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in leading roles.