The glow of success shines bright on Abhishek's career.
"I can't say I had different expectations from 'Sarkar'. Every film raises the same expectations within me. But yes, 'Sarkar' was special. Because I was doing drama with dad," Abhishek told in an interview.
It's his second hit in a row.
"And let's hope 'Dus' would do well," he laughed.
"'Dus' is very different from 'Bunty Aur Babli' and 'Sarkar'. It's a suspense thriller. I can't reveal the plot - we aren't allowed to. But the interesting part of shooting the film was the start-to-finish schedule in Calgary in Canada. The film was quickly wrapped up. But that's the only way to work now. Everybody has realized time is money."
Abhishek is also excited about 'Dus' because of Sanjay Dutt. "Sanju Sir plays my elder brother. So I had the opportunity to work with two actors - Sanju Sir and Suniel Shetty - who are like my elder brothers. They both took good care of me.
"The movie also stars Zayed Khan. He's younger to me. But we practically grew up together. Most of my work in 'Dus' is with him. He's a wonderful co-star. Zayed was a revelation as an actor. We had a lot of fun. I hope we get to work again together soon."
The new phase in his career brings immense satisfaction for the actor in Abhishek. "I feel every actor welcomes a fruitful phase. To entertain the audience is the basic purpose of being an actor. If my films are doing well, it means I've succeeded as an actor. It's a huge high.
"Do people really see a different me in 'Sarkar'? I don't think I've changed at all. I'm exactly the same person I used to be during my first film 'Refugee'. I think it's Ram Gopal Varma who saw me differently," Abhishek contended.
Abhishek refuses to believe in the before-and-after phase in his career.
"I still wake up the same way as I did before 'Dhoom' and 'Bunty Aur Babli', still feel as charged about my work as I did earlier. Every day is a new struggle. I can't afford to sit back and relax. I just want to thank my audience for going to the theatres instead of getting pirated CDs to watch my film," Abhishek said.