After giving a string of flops and enduring unbridled criticism, Abhishek was disheartened and started doubting himself. He thanks Ratnam for giving a push to his languishing career.

"When you are being criticised, you take it seriously and try to improve your bad points as I did, but when you fail again, it is certainly disheartening," said Abhishek.

But then he pulled up his socks and worked on all aspects of his personality - voice, dialect, dance, appearance and wardrobe - in order to further his skills and his acting ability.

The first sign of improvement was witnessed in Ratnam's "Yuva", where he bowled over everyone as a rustic and intense Lallan Singh.

"I will always respect Mani for having confidence in me - which I didn't have in myself at that time," added Abhishek.

Later on, in films like "Dus" and "Bluffmaster" he showed marked improvement in his mannerisms, body language, facial expressions, looks and, last but not the least, wardrobe and fans were stumped.

They started liking him so much that bestowed him with titles like youth icon and sexiest Asian male.

But Abhishek shrugs it off saying: "I am an actor and I should concentrate on my acting. I should understand that people are bestowing me with these honours because of my work."

Acting is an art and the improvement and honing of this craft is an ongoing process because there is always room for growth and the young actor is fully aware of it.

Right now he is devoted to Shaad Ali's "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" and Goldie Behl's "Drona".

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