In 2000, Bachchan made his film debut playing the male lead in J. P. Dutta's war drama "Refugee" opposite Kareena Kapoor, who was also making her debut in the film. Although the film only performed moderately well at the box office, both Bachchan and Kapoor received positive reviews for their performances. Film critic Taran Adarsh wrote that he "has all it takes to emerge a competent actor in years to come. Even in his debut-making film, Abhishek comes across as a fine actor and lives up to his family name."