November 12, 2004 is known as the date on which Veer-Zaara and Aitraaz clashed. The date also saw the re-release of the colour version of the classic Mughal-e-Azam. But Ram Gopal Varma’s Naach also released on the same day and it starred Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and Antara Mali. As the film completed 20 years, Abhishek looks back at it in an interview with us.During Naach, Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) continuously said to me, “You’re the actor. You do the acting. I’m the director. Let me do the direction.” He let me do what I instinctively felt like doing in each shot. He never wanted anything extra, only what the scene required. He gave so much freedom to me as an actor that it scared me. I once felt I was being indulgent in a shot. He told me to do what I wanted; he’d take care of it. Such confidence from the director is a great boost for the actor. So yeah, Naach is special.Naach never intended to take on these films. It’s got its own, what the French call, raison d’etre, unmotivated by competitive factors. Ramu and his distributors felt that was the right time to release Naach.I feel it’s by far Ramu’s most personal film. It touches on his ideals and principles as a creative person. Naach wasn’t an expensive film. But it reflected its director’s beliefs.
