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| Edited By: Deepali Singh |Source: DNA |Updated: Aug 31, 2018, 06:15 AM IST
Up close, you realise that Jimmy Sheirgill has refused to age. “You don’t meet me in real life so often, so you think yeh toh buddha ho gaya hai!” laughs the 47-year-old. He is referring to the characters that he has played in Mukkabaaz (2017) and the recently-released Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3. “The makers tell me, ‘Moochein rakh lo, salt and pepper hair rakh lo, khatarnaak dikho.’ I do all that because the characters are so interesting, you can’t say no to such roles,” he explains, flashing that winsome smile, which charmed audiences in movies such as Maachis (1996) and Mohabbatein (2000).
Jimmy’s glad though that in his latest outing, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi (HPBJ), he is looking close to how he appears off screen. More than that, he is glad that viewers are loving his character, Bagga, in the comic caper. The dependable actor, who has garnered appreciation for his roles in films such as Haasil (2003), Yahaan (2005) and franchises such as Munna Bhai, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster as well as Tanu Weds Manu, spoke to us about breaking the mould consistently. Excerpts...
I’m playing the same character that I did in Happy Bhag Jayegi (2016), so there was not much of an option for me (smiles). In fact, when I did that film, I had not even met Mudassar Aziz. Producer Aanand L Rai told me, ‘There is this director who has an interesting character to offer you.’ That’s how I ended up meeting Mudassar. I like to read scripts first and then listen to the narration to understand the filmmaker’s point of view. He took me through the script and later on, told me that he was narrating comic scenes to me, but I had no expression on my face. I told him that’s the way I am. My mind is too much into the story to laugh. There has to be something really mad in the story to make me smile. I said I’ll do it. I got a nice vibe from him.
Length se toh mujhe kabhi farak padha nahi. If my heart says ‘Do it’, I do it. And I’m glad I said yes because today, he happens to be such a close friend of mine. When he narrated the idea of the second part, I laughed so much! I thought this is the kind of comedy people rarely come up with. There was no buffoonery. The situations and lines left me in splits.
It’s basically the situation and the moment there is a little bit of realism in it, people love it. Like the India-Pak banter in the first was written very well. It’s the same here. The nok jhonk between us was loved by people and we had a great time shooting for it. And when you’re having fun as actors, it translates on screen. For me, these kind of films are a pleasant change from the serious roles I keep doing.
Aisa kuch nahi hai. I try to feel a different way for the character that I’m portraying, which is that this guy has to be human, someone who I have seen somewhere in my life. That’s how I prepare myself. The moment you believe in something, whether good or bad, it becomes relatable. When people saw me as this really evil guy in Mukkabaaz, they saw shades of someone they have met. Bahut gaaliyaan padi thi mujhe uske liye because he was such an evil man. I thought, ‘Chalo pehli baar gaaliyan mil rahi hain.’ I took that as a compliment (smiles).
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster has its own mysterious, evil world which people enjoy watching. And anyone who comes inside their territory, gets trapped in it. In the third part, we came out of it. But again, it’s a story and director Tigmanshu Dhulia is going to come back because the plot keeps moving ahead. It’s a world he is familiar with.
In Bang Bang (2014), I was there in just the opening sequence. I did that film for a friend, director Siddharth Anand. I tend to move easily into any space. I can act in an Anurag Kashyap, Tigmanshu film as easily as a Siddharth Anand’s. I have become accustomed to it. Bang Bang was one of the movies where I got possibly the best reactions and reviews and I was amazed, because it was just one scene! What happens with reviews is that some people have an agenda or a problem, and the actor is unaware about it. In my list, aise log kam hain aur kam hi rahein toh achcha hai (laughs).
I take it as a huge compliment. Because they are not saying that he doesn’t deserve to be here or why has this actor been forced into a film.
I never planned my career in a particular way. So, I feel good when people say that there is a space that I have created for myself where filmmakers don’t visualise anyone else. It was a conscious attempt. Kyunki kitne pedon ke aage peeche naach loge? Ped bhi khatam ho jayenge, filmein bhi khatam ho jayengi. You will just have three-four years left to work that way. So, you have to keep doing various things as an actor to make yourself feel alive. If I did a Mukkabaaz, I did a Yahaan, A Wednesday and a Munna Bhai MBBS, too. I keep breaking the mould each time.
I do one film in a year there. When I started in 2005 (Yaaran Naal Baharaan), there was no industry. As soon as I saw the reaction to the film — 2,000 people in a hall of 1,200 capacity — I thought this industry could be tapped. So, I decided I will do a film there every year. It was not just about going and shooting there. I would take off for two months, almost knocking on doors, to show that Punjabi films are not bad. My idea was that the box office should be noticed by trade pundits. What started in 2004 finally happened in 2009. That’s the reason they respect me there.
No, as of now, I’m just focusing on acting. You need to dedicate time and energy for production. I can’t be producing if I’m running from one set to another.
If I find an apt movie, whether I’m acting in it or not, I will. But I need to take out time for it.
I will be doing a Punjabi film. Then there is some interesting stuff in the digital space that I will finalise soon.
Mera funda clear hai. When directors say, ‘Sir, ladki le lo ya punchlines aur dialogues, toh main punchlines le leta hoon! (Laughs) Real life mein ladki honi chahiye, bas! That’s enough for me (smiles).
