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Updated: Jan 21, 2019 09:12 IST

On Sunday’s episode of Koffee With Karan, host and filmmaker Karan Johar chatted with his old friends, actor Abhishek Bachchan and his sister Shweta Bachchan Nanda. Abhishek jokingly confessed that he wasn’t happy about being on the show and that so many celebrities do it as a way to pay back Karan for dancing at their weddings and mundan ceremonies.

Karan began the show by giving a backgrounder on how the three have been friends since they were kids. They used to hang out together at birthday parties with other celeb kids like Hrithik Roshan, Aditya and Uday Chopra, Zoya and Farhan Akhtar and others. He said that while he struck a friendship with Shweta and Zoya, Abhishek was always the one to bully him.

Karan started the show by asking Abhishek and Shweta who their parents’ favourite child is. While Shweta said Abhishek was their mother, Jaya Bachchan’s favourite, Abhishek said Shweta was their father, Amitabh Bachchan’s darling. Shweta said Jaya’s eyes light up every time Abhishek enters a room, much like her reaction on seeing Shah Rukh Khan in their film Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham. Abhishek said their father wouldn’t care about anyone else and their opinions once Shweta is in the room.

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Karan then asked Abhishek about the two-year hiatus he took from acting before starring in Manmarziyaan last year. Abhishek said he had grown too complacent and comfortable about his work. He said he worked with huge star casts and in big budget films and things got very easy. In those films, he was standing behind a bigger actor who was shouldering all the responsibility. “I didn’t come into the film industry -- firstly if I may say so with all respect to all my co-stars -- I didn’t come to stand behind anyone. It’s heartbreaking for any actor who has been on the centre stage, in the middle of the shot (be told) ‘Ek min zara (gestures to move aside with a hand)’. It’s very difficult to digest,” he said. Abhishek, however, called the hurt and humiliation important.

“The industry is a brutal place. I don’t think anybody is entitled to just say ‘Oh I’m who I am so I deserve this.’ No. You’ve to earn your place,” he added.

Karan also asked Shweta if seeing all this pressure on her brother made her push her own children away from acting as a profession. She said that she was excessive and unfair in her analysis of the industry. “I also know the heartbreaks and I think I know it really, really well. I see their faces when things don’t work out. I’m there on a human level. I am on Instagram, I see the amount of hate and trolling he gets. And whether or not you like him as an actor, or you think that he has had it so easy because he is Amitabh Bachchan’s son, whatever it is, I’m his sister. I’m going to react to him as a sister. And I hate it, it gives me sleepless nights. I don’t want yet another member of my family to be in this business because of a selfish reason,” she said.

Shweta also said that she doesn’t know if her daughter Navya even has a talent for acting. “I feel if she isn’t passionate, driven, talented, she has no business being here,” she added.

Karan then asked the two about why their mother hates the paparazzi so much. Jaya Bachchan is often caught on camera, getting angry at photographers for clicking her pictures. Abhishek said that while he finds the videos amusing and always prepares for a showdown when the whole family goes out together, his mother has grown much more comfortable with the photographers. It’s the fans who ask for selfies that are the problem.

“She gets very claustrophobic when there are too many people around her. She also doesn’t like it when people take her pictures without asking her. She comes from that school of thought,” Shweta added. They then joked about how photographers maintain their distance when they see Jaya at the airport.

Karan asked Abhishek about what it is like to live under the constant pressure and expectations that come from being Amitabh Bachchan’s son. “It’s very difficult Karan. I’ve never said this but it is,” he said. Abhishek added that he does seek validation from his father but doesn’t know how to react on the rare occasions that he says good things about his performances. Shweta told Abhishek that she and Amitabh caught a show of Manmarziyaan together and Amitabh was weeping after watching the film.

When Karan asked them how the family dynamics changed when Aishwarya arrived in the house, Abhishek said there was no change. Shweta said that roles reshuffle in a family whenever someone new arrives. She said she feels relief that Abhishek has someone who understands his work life. She also thinks that if Abhishek has something about his parents, Aishwarya will have a more unbiased opinion than she would.

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In the rapid fire round, Karan asked Shweta to reveal a secret of Abhishek’s as revenge. She said he used to suck his thumb as a kid and also wet his bed. She said she loves Aishwarya for being a ‘self-made, strong woman and a fantastic mother’, hates her for not calling back on time and tolerates her time management, or lack thereof.

On his turn, Abhishek said he loves Aishwarya because she loves him, hates her packing skills and tolerates them too. He also said he would not like to change anything about his relationship with her. Shweta ended up winning the hamper.

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