Despite a promising debut in Bollywood and great comic timing, Abhishek Bachchan, the son of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, has never quite reached the star status that was expected of him. With All Is Well, his new Bollywood road trip movie out in theatres tomorrow, rounds up five of his best films during his 15-year career.
Whenever the work of Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan is discussed, comparisons are inevitably made with his father, the legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, and his wife, Indian actress and ex-Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Despite his own career being somewhat overshadowed by the hugely successful work of his father and wife, Abhishek Bachchan has nonetheless made a name for himself in the film industry for his excellent comic timing.
The 39-year-old – who has won a National Award, three Filmfare Awards, five International Indian Film Academy Awards and six Screen Awards – got his big-screen career off to a good start with his 2000 debut in Refugee alongside Kareena Kapoor, who also made her debut in the film.
The movie was not a major box-office success, but his performance earned praise. This would become the template for most of the actor’s work: critical acclaim for his performances in only moderately successful films, or a lack of praise for his part in box-office sales.
With his latest film, road trip comedy All Is Well, out tomorrow, we look at five of the most memorable roles from his 15-year career.
Yuva (2004)
Bachchan earned his first Filmfare Award for his role in the political drama Yuva.
Directed by Mani Ratnam, the film was a remake of his own Tamil film Aaytha Ezhuthu, about the lives of four students entering careers in politics.
The film was not a huge commercial success, with some distributors even losing money on it, but it received plenty of critical acclaim. Bachchan and co-star Rani Mukherjee picked up Filmfare Awards – for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress – while Ratnam received the Critics Awards for Best Movie and Best Screenplay. The Best Action and Best Art Direction Awards also went to Yuva.
Bunty Aur Babli (2005)
The film that drew everyone's attention to Bachchan's comic timing was Bunty Aur Babli. It also marked the first time the actor had appeared on-screen alongside his father, who played a police officer. The film also featured a song with his father and wife. The crime comedy was the second-highest grossing Bollywood film of 2005 and earned Bachchan a Filmfare nomination for Best Actor, although he did not win.
Sarkar (2005)
2005 was an excellent year for Bachchan. In addition to the acclaim for Bunty Aur Babli, he won another Filmfare Award – for Best Supporting Actor – for his role in Ram Gopal Varma's political drama Sarkar. The film, partly inspired by Hollywood classic The Godfather, starred Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan as father and son and earned the young actor rave reviews. It remains one of his most lauded performances.
Guru (2007)
Bachchan's second film with director Mani Ratnam, Guru, was loosely based on the life of businessman Dhirubhai Ambani. It paired him on screen with his wife Aishwarya for the first time after their marriage, and was well received by critics – though it failed to make much of an impact at the box office.
The Dhoom trilogy (2004, 2006, 2013)
The role that has had the biggest impact on Bachchan's life – both professional and personal – is his portrayal of assistant police commissioner Jai Dixit in the Dhoom trilogy. The blockbuster action-thriller series kicked off in 2004 and the 2006 sequel was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.
It was also where Bachchan fell in love with co-star Aishwarya, whom he would marry a year later. The two had previously worked together in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000) and Kuch Naa Kaho (2003).
Dhoom 3 came out in 2013 and ranks among the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time. Though Bachchan plays a key role in the trilogy, critics have slammed his performances in each instalment. Despite this, the fact remains that without Bachchan there would be no ACP Dixit – and without ACP Dixit, there would be no Dhoom.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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