In combat mode

Sharman Joshi is slowly getting into the groove. So, from a shy actor who barely spoke a word (when he’d visited the city to celebrate the 3 Idiots success party more than three years back), today, he rattles off answers with practised flair.

“This entire marketing process is the one aspect of my job as an actor that I still need getting used to,” admits Sharman. That said, when it comes to talking about his upcoming movie, War Chhod Na Yaar, the actor gets into effusive mode. 

Slated to be India’s first war comedy ever, we wonder if that peg was what convinced Sharman to take on the role — he plays an army officer in the movie — and he says, “Sure, as a war comedy, it was a virgin territory we were exploring here but that wasn’t the main reason why I accepted the role. Fact is, I decided to do the film because as a script it works exceptionally well. The director Faraz Haider had mailed me the script and I was bowled over when I read it. I loved it but one is always a little skeptical about whether a good script like this would translate into a good movie but when I met Faraz for a narration, I knew he’d be able to do it. In fact, I will in so far as go to say that I count War Chhod Na Yaar as one of the top 10 films of my career, yet.”

Shot largely in the deserts of Rajasthan — Bikaner and thereabouts — the film’s story as Sharman cares to informs us is about the casual, tongue-in-cheek relationship the Indo-Pak soldiers on the border share and how they eventually stop a war because they realise it is futile. “There’s a bonhomie that exists between the two countries’ soldiers and the movie tries to show through them that while we may have our differences, we can look beyond them and learn to live together despite those differences.”

For a film that chooses to convey a serious message through comedy, we ask him if comedy is probably a more effective way to put forth ideas to audiences. “Not necessarily,” he opines before elaborating, “Comedy may possibly be more powerful way to say something but I believe that whether it’s a serious film or a comedy, the effectiveness of putting across a message truly depends on the director. Chak De India for instance was a serious movie but it was an inspiring one that told you that if you put your heart into anything you could achieve what you want.”  

Rang De Basanti, 3 Idiots, Ferrari Ki Sawaari and now, War…, it would seem that Sharman has a predilection for doing movies with messages.  Sharman counters that saying, “As an actor, I’ve only believed in doing movies that are entertaining.” “I always hope that my movies are worth the time and money that audiences invest in watching them. If there’s a good message in the movie, then it’s great. So, I’ll say that while it’s never been my intention, I have only been fortunate that I have done movies that are not only entertaining but have substance as well.”

Post the war-comedy film that releases on October 11, Sharman has a handful of movies he’s working on. “I am doing Inder Kumar’s Super Naani where I play grandson to Rekha. I am also doing Gang Of Ghosts, an ensemble film being directed by Satish Kaushik and 1920 London, which is a sequel to the supernatural drama, 1920.