When Abhishek Bachchan felt he was going to die

Jumping off a 90-ft cliff into water is no kid’s job. You need professional stuntman to take the plunge. Abhishek Bachchan himself might have given the stunt for Raavan a miss until he saw local kids in Hogenakkal do it for money. That’s when Abhishek decided to shoot the stunt himself, despite opposition from the film’s director Mani Ratnam.

“I did the dive myself. When we went to the location in Tamil Nadu, insurance officials told Mani that the life of the lead actor cannot be risked...Then he opposed it and said no. Mani advised me that the current of the river was intense and there is a rock in the bottom, which could hurt me,” Abhishek told a news agency.

However, Abhishek made up his mind when he saw kids doing it.

“We shot in Hogenakkal in Tamil Nadu where small local kids jump for money. When a five-year-old kid jumped, I asked, ‘if a child can, why can't I’. But while completing the jump, I actually had the time to think, ‘Oh my God, I am going to die!’” Abhishek said while recalling the stunt which can be seen in the film’s first teaser.

The actor describes his role in ‘Raavan’ as the most “physically and emotionally” draining.