by Subhash K Jha

Abhishek Bachchan hasn't slept for 72 hours. "I've been shooting with Karan Johar in New York for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna during the day, and an ad at night. I don't know whether I'm coming or going. but you know what — I'm loving it!" says the actor.

Abhishek goes from groggy to happy in seconds. "It's so wonderful to be shooting with Karan. All the others are pros on Karan's set; only I'm the newcomer.

But Karan is like a brother, and treats me with special care. Because I'm like the baby on the sets. It's such a wonderful feeling to wake up every morning and know that I'll be working with all my friends — Karan, Rani, Preity, Shah Rukh, and of course, dad. I've worked with all of them before, except Shah Rukh. Watching him at work is truly a learning experience."

The actor says he hasn't had time to do anything else. "I was working round-the-clock in Mumbai; I'm doing the same in New York. I've forgotten what a normal life is, but I can't complain - this is the kind of work that I was waiting to do."

Rituparno Ghosh's Antar Mahal, starring Abhishek, has just released in India, and the actor's startling turn as a Bihari sculptor trapped in a feudal feminist nightmare, has left many dissatisfied. Everyone wants to know why there's so little of Bachchan Jr in the film.

"The dissatisfaction means people liked what they saw of me. The best part of shooting Antar Mahal was I did it in less than two weeks. Before I knew it, I was in Kolkata, and the shooting was over.

To be working in a film where you were allowed no more than three re-takes, and where there was no luxury of sitting around waiting for things to happen. these were things I had never experienced before. Nobody hung round on Ritu's set; everyone just worked and worked."

Abhishek is all praise for Ghosh. "He made me grow as an actor, put me in touch with areas in my soul I had never reached. Playing the Bihari sculptor wasn't easy. I felt like a completely different actor during Antar Mahal."

In two weeks, Abhishek will be seen in Bluff Master. "It's as different from Antar Mahal as possible. Bluff Master is a fun film. The fact that it's directed by a close friend, Rohan Sippy, made it even more enjoyable.

Rohan and I go back a long way — I was in his first film, Kuch Na Kaho. There was no way I wouldn't be in his second."

Co-star Priyanka Chopra too gets a lot of praise from the actor. "Priyanka is a very talented actor and great fun, he says. The two spent all their free time on the sets playing pranks on each other.

"That's true. She turned out to be an even bigger prankster than me. That's good; we make a fun couple on the screen."