Abhishek Bachchan is ready to entertain fans with a never-before-seen avatar in Shoojit Sircar’s I Want To Talk. But do you know that he was not the first choice for the film? In fact, it was the late actor Irrfan Khan who the director had in mind for the role. Speaking on the topic, Shoojit Sircar revealed, “In I Want To Talk, it was supposed to be Irrfan. Abhishek came quite close to that. I am very satisfied with the performance,” in an interview with Cyrus Broacha on his podcast. Irrfan Khan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. He died on April 29, 2020, in Mumbai.
Abhishek Bachchan underwent a drastic physical transformation for I Want To Talk. Back in October, the makers dropped a poster from the film featuring Abhishek on Instagram. The actor was seen standing inside a room wearing a robe and yellow-printed shorts. He had an annoying expression on his face which appeared borderline funny. The talking point of the poster however was his pot belly with a surgery scar on it. “Bolne ke liye toh bohot kuch hai but then, a picture ‘talks’ a thousand words (There is a lot to say, but a picture speaks a thousand words)” read the side note.
The trailer of I Want To Talk portrays Abhishek Bachchan as Arjun who navigates through several challenges in life through his wit and humour. In the video, a doctor briefs Arjun about a life-altering surgery he must undergo. With limited time left in his hands, Arjun seeks redemption for hurting certain people.
At the film’s music launch event, Abhishek Bachchan spoke about his potbellied avatar, clarifying that it was not prosthetic. “Don’t ever put on weight for a film again. Trust me, at my age, it gets very difficult to lose it after a while. And that is me. That isn’t any prosthetic,” he said.
Produced under the banners of Kino Works and Rising Sun Films, I Want To Talk will premiere on November 22. Pearle Dey, Kristin Goodard, Jayant Kripalani, Johnny Lever and Ahilya Bambroo are also a part of the project.