‘Abhishek Bachchan is an amazing actor, but lazy,’ says Prahlad Kakkar as he’s asked about controversial comment questioning actor’s career despite 17 flops

Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar revisited his feud with Abhishek Bachchan, whose talent he questioned when he said that anybody else would've been kicked out of Bollywood with his track record.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | September 17, 2025 03:33 PM IST

4 min read

Abhishek Bachchan made his acting debut in 2000, with Refugee. (Express Archive)

Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, who was once supposed to make his filmmaking debut with a project starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, reflected on his past controversial comments about Abhishek. Many years ago, Prahlad had wondered how Abhishek still has a career in films, after his poor track record at the box office. He said that Bollywood was a ‘mom and pop business’ more than an industry, implying that Abhishek was getting by purely on the power of his father Amitabh Bachchan’s name. In a new interview, Prahlad said that he shouldn’t have singled Abhishek out and kept his statement generic, but he proceeded to describe him as a ‘lazy actor’.

In an interview with journalist Vickey Lalwani, Prahlad said that his planned feature filmmaking debut fell through because the producer he was collaborating with was a ‘crook’. He also revealed that Aishwarya was never in favour of working with the man in the first place, as she had heard rumours about him being a ‘wife-beater’, and she didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Prahlad said that Aishwarya was the ‘queen bee’ even during her pageant days, and that he had predicted she would become the next Madhubala. He said that he continues to admire Aishwarya for the dignity that she shows in the face of adversity.

But, when asked about Abhishek, he said, “I believe that Abhishek is a great actor, but he’s just lazy. He’s amazing, he’s just lazy.” Revisiting his old comments, he said, “The discussion was about the industry. And I said that it’s not an industry. It’s a mom-and-pop shop. How is it an industry? There’s nothing professional about it. The only thing professional about it is the technicians. The actors, the directors, the families that produce are not technicians. They’re not professionals. They’re moody and haphazard; that’s why films take two-three years to make. And they’re so star-dependent. Everybody is picked from families; it’s such a system of nepotism. I asked that if somebody else had 17 flops like Abhishek had, would he still be getting work?”

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Back when Prahlad made his comments about Abhishek, the actor took to social media to hit back. “I love Prahlad Kakkar, he should be a stand-up comic not an ad-filmmaker. Maybe then someone will take him seriously! This coming from a man who makes commercials with his own son. Hmmm. Oh ya, Prahlad, I’m already in the Guiness book of world records and a very proud son. I hope you give your sons an opportunity to say the same someday,” he wrote, making a reference to his Guinness recognition for doing the most number of promotional events in 12 hours, for Delhi 6.

Prahlad said that he had a conversation with Abhishek, and that they buried the hatchet. “My mistake was taking his name. I shouldn’t have. That was out of line. But there are so many cases of people in the film industry who are from families who are given chance after chance,” he said, defending himself against Abhishek’s allegation that he himself hired his son in his commercials. Prahlad said that he didn’t, and that his son was chosen by the agency he worked for. He said that Abhishek called him and seemingly forgave him, but through it all, it was Aishwarya who stood up for him. She told her family that Prahlad is a ‘motormouth’, and that his comments shouldn’t be taken seriously.

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