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AB Baby is all grown up!
On February 5th, Abhishek Bachchan will celebrate a huge personal milestone: his 40th birthday! And while we’re sure the cream of the Bollywood crop will begin pouring in wishes for Junior B soon, we’ve compiled a list of our 8 favorite things about Abhishek as a little gift from the UrbanAsian team. Happy birthday, AB!
1. His sense of humor
We know Abhishek doesn’t like being called a prankster, so let’s just say he makes masti wherever he goes! All of his costars can attest to how much fun AB is to have around on set, which we’re sure is a nice change of pace from working with actors who treat fraternizing with the cast and crew of their film with the same enthusiasm they would muster up for a root canal. No wonder he’s a favorite of the likes of Farah Khan, Karan Johar, and Mani Ratnam!
2. He and Aishwarya are total #RelationshipGoals!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past nine years, you’ve probably seen Abhishek and Aishwarya together walking to red carpet at Cannes, posing on the cover of magazines, and fawning over their little girl Aaradhya. And they really are the perfect celebrity power couple: they talk about each other with love, respect and just a hint of giddiness, without indulging in so much PDA we feel like puking. While B-town might not be the best place to find a husband, Abhishek seems to be the exception to the rule, always showing up to support his wife in her accomplishments and vocally proclaiming just how proud he is of her…and she does the same for him as well! In a world where celeb relationships are constantly combusting and women are expected to support their husbands while the men never reciprocate, Abhi and Aish are a breath of fresh air!
3. He’s the king of social media
Before Dubsmashes and hashtag trends took over Bollywood, there was Abhishek, keeping us entertained by tweeting his early morning song playlists and teasing his famous friends like Karan Johar and Riteish Deshmukh. Nowadays social media has become a business, and many stars treat it as such, but not AB! He connects with his friends and his fans in a very real, very personal way that you can’t help but admire. Regardless of what you think of him as an actor, you have to admit, he seems like a pretty cool guy to hang out with!
4. He’s a pioneer in the sports world
Even the most casual Abhishek fan knows that he’s a huge sports fanatic. But instead of being a mere spectator, he has become a pioneering figure in Indian sports, reviving an interest in Pro Kabaddi and Indian football. He currently owns both the Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi team and the Indian Super League football team Chennaiyin FC. He even got his own moment to shine in the arena, having been selected as the first Indian to play in the annual NBA All-Star Celebrity Game!
5. He’s a versatile performer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PDP0JDmnf8
It’s widely acknowledged that Abhishek is one of the best comedic actors working in Bollywood today, and yet some of his most memorable performances have been in dramas. Films like Yuva and Guru are testaments to his commitment in transformative roles, but he’s also taken risks by working in unconventional genres, as well. Not all of those risks paid off at the box office, but any serious cinephile can appreciate what Abhishek has attempted to do throughout his career. Years from now, we can only hope that films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Delhi-6, and Dum Maaro Dum will be remembered as the experimental, genre-bending films they were.
6. He has great respect for women
Jaya ma’am raised her son right! There are many men in the film industry who aren’t exactly known for their chivalry, but Abhishek has proven himself to be an ally to both his female costars and the women in his family. Most recently, he has been seen campaigning for the empowerment of the girl child:
“The statistics [on gender inequality] are absolutely appalling, and I really think it’s up to the men to go out there and do something. I think the women are doing their part, and it’s up to the men to support and encourage them. I think not educating your child is absolutely disgusting. As a new father, my prime concern is to educate my daughter and to equip her to face the big bad world out there. So I think it’s up to the men equally, if not slightly more so, to go out there and make a difference.”
See? He gets it.
7. He’s a team player
The words ‘ego’ and ‘actor’ often go hand-in-hand. Many aspiring movie stars want to be the only one in the spotlight, which prevents them from taking roles in ensemble films with costars of equal or greater stock. But Abhishek has done plenty of ensemble films opposite major movie stars like Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, and Hrithik Roshan. And when given the right role, he often delivers the most memorable performance among a stacked star cast (see: Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Bol Bachchan). But it goes beyond just setting ego aside to work with other stars. Abhishek recognizes that all films are collaborative effort, having said many times that he doesn’t believe in the concept of a hero-oriented film given how much work all the other players contribute to the film’s outcome. If all stars had the same outlook, the film industry might look very different!
8. He knows just how #Blessed he is
Facts are facts: Abhishek Bachchan has been very lucky…and he knows it! Lucky to be born to his parents, lucky to have a successful and lucrative career, lucky to have one of the most gorgeous women in the world on his arm. But instead of denying all the privileges he’s been given, Abhishek embraces it. He’s proud to be known as Amitabh Bachchan’s son, and Aishwarya Rai’s husband, and probably Aaradhya’s father as well. He doesn’t act like any of these things were owed to him, and he is proud to claim his family and the industry he was raised in. And any criticism that comes his way, deserved or undeserved? He takes it on the chin and moves on. There’s no sense of self-importance or entitlement, and when it comes to nepotism and the extremely insular film fraternity, that makes all the difference.
