Why Abhishek Bachchan really needs to break off from the pack now and feature in solo-hero films

New Delhi: It's not easy to shine in a film which is tailor-made to showcase superstar Shah Rukh Khan's talent. And Abhishek Bachchan managed to do just that in Farah Khan's latest blockbuster 'Happy New Year' which hit the theatres on Diwali.

The actor, son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, has always been been subjected to a fair bit of scrutiny by the media for his lineage. In HNY, he has effortlessly pulled off the role of Nandu Bhide - a good-for-nothing oddball living in a chawl in Mumbai, desperately trying to raise the money needed for a life-saving operation for his mother.

Bachchan's comic timing is perfect and together with Khan and Boman Irani, the actor pulls of a bunch of hackneyed jokes with absolute elan.

The actor has been part of several hit films, most notably the 'Dhoom' series and 'Bol Bachchan'. But he has also been been applauded for his acting in films such as 'Yuva' and 'Guru'. From playing the lovable con Bunty in Shaad Ali's 'Bunty Aur Babli' to portraying a local goon of Kolkata in 'Yuva' and the self-made business icon in 'Guru', Bachchan has always managed to come through.

But equally, he battles massive expectations being the son of a man whose name is synonymous with Hindi cinema. Written crassly, Bachchan nevertheless manages his HNY character to stand out from the rest. It's infact the funniest of the lot. He doesn't get the girl in the film, he doesn't get to deliver the cracking lines and he does not get to do the cool stunts that Khan does and yet Bachchan manages to hold his own.

Bachchan's always good in an ensemble cast. But it's been so long since he's had a solo film. He has much more to him than playing a barfing, alcohol-loving sidekick. The actor has in the past been part of projects which were critically well received and somewhere in the midst of becoming a commercially successful star, the actor became part of the herd and started working in formula films. Perhaps its time that he experiments with roles just like he had at the beginning of his career and prove the cynics wrong. Are producers listening?