I play a character in 'Munnabhai': Abhishek

Mumbai, Sep 10 (IANS) Abhishek Bachchan, whose appearance in Rajkumar Hirani's "Lage Raho Munnabhai" takes the audience by surprise, says he was a "character" in the film and "not a guest appearance".

"I wouldn't call it a guest appearance. There are no guests in a film. Either you're part of a film or you're not," said Abhishek, who also made surprise appearances in Kunal Kohli's "Hum Tum" and Siddhartha Anand's "Salaam Namaste".

"Whether it was the small but significant part of Rani's husband in 'Hum Tum' or the wacky doctor in 'Salaam Namaste' or Diya Mirza's husband in 'Lage Raho Munnabhai', I play a character in the films," Abhishek told IANS.

"I don't believe in the concept of guest appearances," added the actor, who is shooting for Shaad Ali's "Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom" in London.

"Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra called and asked me if I'd do a small cameo and I said yes. It's as simple as that."

Some years ago Abhishek had done a walk-on part in Karan Johar's "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" that got cut on the editing table.

"I had to wait for 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' to get a role in Karan's cinema," smiled Abhishek, who stars with Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta and Bobby Deol in "Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom".

"As kids, Bobby and I attended so many birthday parties together. It's good to be working with him at last," he said.

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Lage Raho Munnabhai