'You Don't Deal With Failure. Failure Deals With You'

Abhishek Bachchan, 44, has just completed 20 years in Bollywood and is looking forward to his maiden web series, Breathe: Into the Shadows. He talks to Giridhar Jha about the show, the highs and lows of his career and comparisons with his legendary father. Excerpts:

Why did you choose Breathe: Into the Shadows to be your debut on a digital platform?

> I never looked at it as a debut. I thought of it as just another job, another project. When I heard the story, I loved it and wanted to be a part of it. The emotions of the story resonated with me.

What do you think is the USP of the show?

> Mayank Sharma, the director, is the USP of the series. He is brilliant. The concept of the show grabbed my attention. The credit for that goes entirely to Mayank, Vikram Tuli, Bhavani Iyer and Arshad Syed, the writers of the show.

Does it make a difference to you as an actor when you work in a web series?

> The only difference is that you get more time to flesh out your character. In cinema, we get two to three hours to justify why a character does what he does. In web series, you can spend time to properly establish a character.

Expectations from your show are quite high. Does it put extra pressure on you?

> Not at all! My concern is to be able to do my best and be part of something that entertains people. I think Amazon Prime Video, with its original series, has been doing great work. Even if you see Breathe Season 1 (2018), it was a lot of fun.

With the advent of streaming platforms, the face of the entertainment industry is going to change forever. Or has it changed already?