Hrishikesh Mukherjee's actors had one thing in common: they were realistic. And believeable. To portray Amitabh Bachchan as just another ordinary human being was no easy task. But Hrishida managed this feat in all his films.

AB was no star when he played the gawky, intense and serious doctor Bhaskar Mukherjee modelled after the director in Anand, based on Hrishida's friendship with Raj Kapoor (Anand Sehgal in the film, played by Rajesh Khanna). To this day, Hrishida calls Amitabh Maharaj.

Amitabh perfectly wore the garb of the characters Hrishida spun. Notable are his performances as the jealous husband in Abhimaan, the depressed, angry neighbour in Mili, the goofy English professor of Chupke Chupke and the righteous orphan of Bemisaal.