| Interviews |
| Sreen India JIMMY SHERGILL Mohabbatein was the turning point in my career Jimmy Shergill, who plays a journalist in Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar, has no doubt he is here to stay for good. The actor speaks about his films and other plans in a brief chat ... What is your role in Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar? I play an ambitious journalist in the film, more like a tapori, street smart and ruthless when it comes to achieving what he wants. How is it that you came to act in the film? When Tanuja was casting for the film, I was lucky she thought of me. She said she only wanted me for the role. She believed that only I could do justice to the role, don�t ask me why. Thus I took up the film. Moreover, it had a good story and songs. I owe it all to Tanuja for placing her trust in me. She has made me work as I have never done before. How was it working in YZKS? Earlier I had played roles which were very different to what I am in real life. For once here I am playing a role pretty close to what I am. It�s been a tough character to portray and I told Tanuja as much in the very beginning. But she told me to be calm and just do the film. Today I am happy I heeded her advice. What are your expectations from the film? It is a different kind of film. For a change, I am certain and hopeful that I shall be recognised as a versatile actor after this film. How has it been working with Amisha? Very good. She is a very amazing person, very hard-working and intelligent. I am looking forward to working with her again in Haasil. About your earlier films, tell us something about them. I got a good film as a break with Maachis but I was not noticed in the film as I was too skinny and wore a beard. After Maachis, I signed two films, Jahan Tum Le Chalo and Dum Dum Diga Diga. While Dum Dum Diga Diga got shelved, Jahan Tum Le Chalo did not get a proper release. I was getting offers, but since they were similar to what I did in Maachis, I did not sign those films. Sadly, things didn�t happen the way I expected them to happen. Aditya Chopra has always been my favourite director, but I never thought I would ever get a chance to work with him so early in my career. I guess I was destined to work with him some time and it was with Mohabbatein that I got that chance. Mohabbatein was the turning point in my career. I feel if one wishes for something from the heart, it is bound to happen. How was it working with the Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan? As a school student, I used to love to watch Amitabh Bachchan�s films. In college, I began watching Shah Rukh Khan�s films. I began idolising him after I worked with him. He emits a lot of positive energy around him. He is not only a good actor, but also a good human being. He goes out of his way to help others. He is very encouraging and open to suggestions. The atmosphere changes when he is around and he is fun to be with. As far as Amitabh Bachchan is concerned, though we had very few scenes with him, he made us very comfortable. How long have you been in the industry? Eight years in all. I spent one year doing an acting course at Roshan Taneja�s. After that I did Maachis, Jahan Tum Le Chalo and Mohabbatein besides doing music videos for Ahmed/Bobby Khan�s Woh Kaun Thi sung by Jojo as well as Meghna Gulzar�s Marasim. I can say that I was pretty occupied all the while and did not waste my precious time. It was a good feeling. If I had to wait for work to come my way, I would have been a frustrated person today. What are your forthcoming films? I have four films lined up for release after Tanuja Chandra�s Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar with Amisha Patel. There is Haasil again with Amisha; Bobby Bedi�s untitled film, to be directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia co-starring Hrishita Bhatt; Kehta Hain Dil Baar Baar with Kim Sharma and Tips� Dil Hai Tumhara with Preity Zinta and Mahima Chaudhary in which I play a ventriloquist. What kind of training did you have to go through to do the role? Though it is just a cameo, I had to train for the role. But Ramdas Padhye is the only ventro in Mumbai and since he is busy all the time, he would manage to give us just ten minutes of his time at every sitting. And I managed to learn quite a few things from him. What do you see yourself doing in the near future? I know I have some good films lined up. Right now I am waiting to complete shooting for all these films, say latest by December 15, before I start signing and shooting for more films next year. Thus, I can promise that I have a bright future ahead of me. Moreover people like Gulzar and Aditya Chopra have good things to say about me as a person as well as an actor so this inspires me to do more hard work. �Namita Nivas |
| RadioSargam JIMMY SHERGIL "I Am Here To Stay" Jimmy Shergil is here... and he is here to stay. His disastrous start with an art film like the Desh Deepak helmed Jahan Tum Le Chalo taught Jimmy a lesson. The film had music by Gulzar and lyrics by Vishal Bharadwaj and the cast spoke of Nirmal Pandey and Sonali Kulkarni. Nothing happened. He had a better response with his debut film Maachis where he had a shorter but noticeable role. But the success of Mohabbatein has been the silver lining. or rather a golden lining. But in spite of having four big films on hand and producers approaching him every second day, Jimmy has his feet firmly on the ground.In an exclusive interview, he promises that he'd give better performances in his forthcoming films: How was it doing Mohabbatein? Great! Do you have any other word that could describe it? I mean, you had, Adi (Aditya Chopra), Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and above all - Amitabh Bachchan! What else could any actor ask for? As a matter of fact, the Chopra banner is the biggest thing. The rest is a bonus yaar, isn't it? But don't you think the heavyweight star cast overshadowed your performances? No way! Whoever told you this? Actually, it was our good fortune to have two of the biggest stars in the industry working with us. Shah Rukh was extremely helpful. He went out of his way and showed me how to act and how to work on a particular scene and improvise on that. Tell me who would do something like this? As for Mr Bachchan, it used to be a pleasure seeing him work. He did not have to teach us anything. We would just learn when we'd see him perform in front of the camera! All in all it was a very good learning experience for me. So who is your favourite among the two? I have never had a 'favourite actor' as such. But I have always been of the opinion that both Shah Rukh and Amitabh Bachchan are the industry's finest actors. Going back, how were your early days? Yes! I have done Gulzar saab's Maachis. I had a small role to play. but that got me a lot of recognition. Actually I was learning under Mr Roshan Taneja when Gulzar saab approached me for a role. He asked me to pick up a character, which I would like to play. So I picked up the character of 'Jimmy' since it is my pet name as well! Actually Chandrachur Singh had picked one role of the lead guy a few days ago. To be honest, I never expected a lot from the film, since the role was a very small one. But then it worked out very well. Unfortunately, the films that I had expected would do a lot to my career didn't do well at all. You mean Jahan Tum Le Chalo, right? Yes! It was around the same time that I had signed this film and also another art film. My idea was that if these two films would release simultaneously, it would be a turning point in my career, but then the release of Jahan Tum Le Chalo was postponed time and again and eventually it was a disappointment. As for the art film. that didn't do any good for me either. Coming back to Mohabbatein, how did you get the film? I was in Delhi when I read in the newspapers that Adi was looking for fresh faces. So I asked a few of my friends, who know him, to put a word so that I could go and at least meet him. I even left my photographs at the Yashraj films office at Juhu. Then one fine day one of my friends told me that Yashraj Films was trying my Mumbai number. and was not able to get in touch with me. So what did I do? I took the next flight to Mumbai and went directly to their office. There I gave a screen test, I passed and I was in the film! So where do you go from here? Home. He he! Getting serious, presently I have just finishe working on a Tanuja Chandra film Zindagi Ek Safar opposite Amisha Patel. It is a lovely role... Besides this I am also working with Priyan (Priyadarshan). My feet are very much on the ground. I am not signing films blindly. I have become a little selective. I do not want to known as a one-film wonder. I have a long way to go. I have to work on my acting and learn a lot of things. And now that I have arrived, I want to stay here for good. |
| CINEMAA INDYA Despite good roles in films like Maachis and Jahan Tum Le Chalo, Jimmy Shergill finally got recognised only in Mohabbatein. Now with Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar just around the corner, Jimmy's career is on the roll. A chit-chat with the soft-spoken yet determined actor... Were you aware of the fact you were replacing Govinda in Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar? I didn't know that I was replacing Govinda until I signed the film. But in most of Tanuja Chandra films, the hero hardly has anything to do. I do agree that the hero does not have much to do in a Tanuja Chandra film. This is the first time that she has a well-etched role for the male protagonist in her film. It is a pretty lenthy role too unlike her first two films. When you watch the film, you'll understand what I mean. How was it working with a young director like Tanuja? Tanuja is an amazing director. I have enjoyed working with her. She is very good for actors specially because she acts out the whole scene for you. As a person too, she is very bubbly and extremely hard-working with great energy levels. I owe a lot to her as I have learnt a lot from her. This is going to be your fourth release, and the second big one with Amisha Patel as your heroine. Yes, my first film was Maachis. Then Jahan Tum Le Chalo released. But Mohabbatein proved to be my biggest break, thanks to Aditya Chopra. May God bless him! Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar is very important for me also because it is my first big film as a solo male lead. And, of course, it is opposite a very big star Amisha Patel. I pray to God that it does really well. How was it working with Amisha Patel? Amisha has been a very good co-star. She is extremely hard-working and a great performer. It has been a pleasure to work with her. She looks and performs amazingly well in this film. I would love to work with her again because I'm very disciplined myself. I love to work with people who are disciplined. No attitude, no tantrums, just pure hard work. About your role in YZKS? It has been a very tough role for me to do but thanks to Tanuja, I think I have done it pretty decently. Let's see how people like it. If the film clicks, and people like me, then it could be a good image break for me. I have this image of a clean chocolate boy but here I play a street-smart guy, very young and ambitious. Are you starring in the next Yashraj movie starring Tanisha? The Yash Raj project is not fully lined up. I don't know who the female lead is. I will only get to know the details when I get back to Mumbai. Don't you think it was a bit too early for you to marry? I am very happy being married. I think God decides all these things, they are not in our hands. We can only work hard and pray for the best. I thank God for giving me the sweetest wife any husband could ask for... YZKS will be your first solo release? Are you feeling the burden on your shoulders? The solo burden is not that much on me because I have a very big star Amisha Patel, then I have Tanuja Chandra, Mukesh Bhatt etc. But still, the nervousness is definitely there, of being the solo male lead of the film. You are also doing a Kundan Shah film. Is it a typical Kundan Shah film? The Kundan Shah film has Preity Zinta, Mahima Choudhary, Arjun Rampal and above all Rekhaji. I am in a kind of a special appearance, it is a small role of a ventriloquist. Kundan Shah is a very sweet person. He has made some good films so I really wanted to work with him. The character appealed to me, so I agreed. It is a sweet role, a lovable character. I wish it was a lengthy one... --Bharati Dubey |
| Rediff on the Net Jimmy Shergill stands on the threshold of success. He is an optimist. The struggle before Mohabbatein and despite a successful debut in Maachis has not left any traces of bitterness. Having been noticed in the over crowded frame of Mohabbatein, he is now ready to resume his interrupted race of stardom. In conversation with Pratiksha Arora: How has Mohabbatein helped you in your career? Mohabbatein was an experience of a lifetime. I remember when I got a call for the screen test I was in Delhi. Two weeks later, when I found out that I had missed that call, I was sure, he would have already cast someone else in the film. But when I found out that they had waited for me, I was thrilled to be in the film. The two years before I signed Mohabbatein were a struggle. But I waited for good roles, working selectively like doing Gulzarji's video. Luckily for me, Mohabbatein happened. Yes, I will be the first amongst the six of us to have a film releasing, but that is purely just coincidence. I think all of us were equally appreciated in the film and all of us have had some good work coming our way. We all worked very hard on the film. Rehearsals, acting classes, fittings, I remember we would joke on the sets, how if someone woke us up in the middle of our sleep, we would be able to recite our dialogues and do our dance steps perfectly. A lot of critics said that I had a SRK hangover, but I think it was because of the way that Adi had envisaged Karan to be. The jackets, the guitar, and the attitude � a lot was like Shah Rukh Khan in the first half of DDLJ. It did hurt to be compared to someone. But it has paid off. I have some very exciting films in my kitty. The best part being that I haven't got typecast into the usual mould of a romantic hero. Which is why I am choosing the subjects of my films with a lot of care. If there is Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar, which is about a street-smart cunning journalist, there is Kundan Shah's film, where I play a character that will walk away with all your sympathies. What was working with the Chopras like? With Aditya, I knew I was in safe hands. I was never worried despite the fact that there were so many of us in the film. I learnt a lot during the film. Especially from Adi. How he pays attention to the minutest detail. He stylizes every scene for you and makes you look like a hero. As a director, he is very sure of himself. He knows exactly what he likes and what he dislikes, what he would like to see on the big screen and how he will translate it across. I think the biggest compliment was when he said after seeing my work and waiting for two years, "I have found my Karan." And praise coming from him, who would never compliment a person till he is happy with the work means a lot to me, especially when he said, how much he liked my performance in Mohabbatein. The energy on the sets was electric. I remember we would be hanging around on the sets and suddenly one would feel a vibe. And we knew Mr Bachchan had arrived. The aura around him is so strong. But the funniest bit was Uday teasing me when I wore those heavy leather jackets in the sweltering summer of Bombay. But I had my turn at him, when in the freezing cold of London, he would be dressed in sleeveless jackets! How different is it on the sets of Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar? Tanuja is a different ball game altogether. As a woman director, she is extremely sensitive to little nuances that give the characters a different shade. In fact, what made it really easy is that she knows exactly what she wants from you and she will even act it out for you. But it was a tough transition. In Mohabbatein, I play a very understated character with very subtle shades. In Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar, I play a very loud character. He is very street smart, very cunning, has a mad streak about him but in the course of the film, he changes and his nicer side evolves. It's a character very unlike me so I had to rehearse a bit. I didn't even know Govinda was supposed to be doing the film, till I signed it. And frankly, it was a great role for a release after Mohabbatein. I think I have learnt a lot as an actor and matured while doing this film. I found myself exploring his mind, his psyche while doing the role. Tanuja and I would have long discussions about his intentions, his motivation and it was a great learning experience. In fact, as a director, on Tanuja's sets, there was an easy camaraderie with Amisha, Tanuja and I debating over the characters. How was it working with Amisha Patel? Despite all her success, she is an actress who has no airs about herself. She is extremely easy to work with and very hardworking. Always ready to do a rehearsal or willing to experiment with a scene. We shared a very good rapport and for her, it is a great role to perform and show her dramatic skills. What is in the pipeline? In Kundan Shah's film, I have a small role of ventriloquist. It's a cameo, where I had to learn the art of puppetry, and change my voice and characters. I have also been taking some classes from a trained ventriloquist to get the hang of my role. Though I didn't have much time, I have been working very hard on getting the hang of the mannerisms. It is a very nice character who tries to convey his emotions but cannot and uses his puppetry and mimicry to do so. But his sets are different. It's a big banner, mutli-starrer film and so one just goes onto the sets, finishes work and is done with, considering Rekhaji, Mahima, Preity are all very senior to me. But yes, they are very co-operative and I have always admired Kundan Shah's work, so it was exciting to be a part of his film. Another exciting film is Haasil with Hrishitaa Bhatt which is based in New York about Indians, and is a completely commercial film. There is another interesting story to be directed by a newcomer, based in Allahabad. It is a very youth based film. Then there is a Yashraj movie in the pipeline, but the details are not finalized yet. I am looking forward to working with them again, because they are like a family now. |