Abhishek dived  from a 90 foot cliff, braved snakes while shooting for it

He dived from a 90-ft  cliff into water, stood under a 
waterfall  for two hours, braved snakes and leeches in Kerala's forests - 
Abhishek Bachchan says shooting for  'Raavan' was emotionally and physically 
challenging  for him.
The actor revealed that he  decided to jump from scary heights despite a no from director Mani  Ratnam.
"I did jump. There was a  professional diver to train me how to do it," Abhishek, who has teamed  up with wife Aishwarya Rai in the  movie, told IANS in an interview.
"When we went up there, it was  90 feet or something. So the insurance people said that we can't allow  him to do it. You can't put your lead actor's life at risk," he said.
"Mani said no, I am not going to  risk my actor jumping off that (cliff). Actually, the current of that  river is very intense. There are rocks at the bottom.
"In the meantime, a  five-year-old boy came and dived into the water. We were shooting it at  Hogenakkal (waterfall on the Cauvery river), where these local kids jump  off for money. So five-six  people jumped at the end of the day and finally the shot was taken," he  said.
"This is the most challenging  film I have ever done in my life. I haven't done such a physically and  emotionally challenging film in my life. And it's not about going to  tough locations or tough scenes. The film drains you and you feel so  good when you go home at night because you feel that you have done  something. Getting a movie like 'Raavan' is so rare. You don't get such a  role today," Abhishek said.
Ratnam's 'Raavan' is said to be a  modern interpretation of the epic "Ramayana". It also stars southern  superstar Vikram, who plays a cop married to Aishwarya.
The director simultaneously shot  'Raavan' in Tamil and Hindi at various locations, including the  Athirapally forests in Kerala, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Jhansi in Uttar  Pradesh, Kolkata, and the Malshej Ghats in Maharashtra. The film has  lots of action scenes and stunts performed by the actors.
Ratnam completed the film  despite health problems.
"Once you work with him, you  will be in awe of him because of the talent he brings to the table. The  minute he says cut, he turns into a dear friend. He is someone very  close to me. I really feel a strong bond  with him. But in front of the camera, you don't have to work to give  him the respect - it just comes... He is truly just the best," said  Abhishek.
It was Ratnam who gave Abhishek  his first hit in 'Yuva' and they later worked together in 'Guru'.
Talking about his character,  Abhishek said: "Beera is the most fun character I have played. Fun  because when we work on a character, we draw an outline and then fill in  the blanks. But Beera is so unpredictable that you can get away with  everything. Mani said do whatever you have done. Make it a convincing  performance.
"I believe if you can look the  character, 50 percent of your job done. I think when you get the body  language correct, half of your work is done. And if you have understood  the body language, your dialogues after that would just come."
Ratnam loves shooting on real  locations to extract the best from his actors, said Abhishek.
"On the first day, he puts us  under the waterfall for two hours and, trust me, you are in character.  Mani loves to shoot at location. You will think, 'where have we come?'  The jungles of Kerala, the snakes and leeches... then you realise that  he puts you into the situation where in a day or two you start reacting  instinctively as your character would react because you are actually  facing that.
"You don't need to act that  much, you are just reacting naturally. So when you go to locations like  that, it brings out the character automatically."