It was only to shrug off the tag of a chocolate boy that actor Jimmy Shergill dabbled in genres like comedy, action and thriller. Busy enjoying an interesting buffet of films – both regional and Hindi – Jimmy sounds upbeat as he talks about his recent film ‘Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi’ and how it will take fans into a completely different territory.
Referring to ‘Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi’ as a refreshing change, Jimmy lauds Punjabi film industry for the growth it has witnessed in the last few years. “It is great to see the kind of response that Punjabi films are getting now. Agreed, the industry has grown in the last few years, but we still need to explore new ideas and stories. With ‘Hero…’ we’ve attempted that. It is a bit saddening to see that the industry is surviving on comedies,” he says.
As an artist, Jimmy feels it is his responsibility to experiment, pick an interesting variety of roles, come up with different ideas and not be pigeonholed by the industry. “That’s precisely why the viewers saw me in a comedy like ‘Mundey UK De’, a family film ‘Tera Mera Ki Rishta’ and a youth-oriented project ‘Yaaran Naal Baharaan’. But it was ‘Mel Karade Rabba’ that really changed the trend. Punjabi films started getting noticed for their content, quality and execution. There were many from Bollywood who appreciated our efforts.”
As Jimmy tells us, filmmakers focus on comedies because they can be made on small budgets and bring huge returns. “Comedy films sasti hoti hai. But that can’t be applied to ‘Hero...’. Since the film was shot abroad, the cost of the shoot was unsurprisingly high.”
(A still from Munde UK De)
The Punjabi film industry may not be as huge as Bollywood, but with the actors like Jimmy Shergill, Diljit Dosanjh and Harbhajan Mann, it has succeeded in giving competition to other regional industries like Marathi cinema. “I wouldn’t say I’m the only person responsible for the revival of Punjabi cinema. There have been many. I’d always be thankful to Manmohan ji, the cameraperson in ‘Maachis’ for convincing me to do Punjabi films. With the kind of returns that we got for our films, we knew the industry will grow in the coming years.”
Jimmy might be aware of the fact that developing a career path is as overwhelming a task as it appears, but he doesn’t let that affect him. “I don’t think much about the career graph. Things went in a completely different direction in my professional life, but I still enjoyed the huge variety of roles I have essayed in my career as an actor. I’m absolutely delighted with the respect that I have got for my work. I’m happy with every risk I took, and yes, I agree that there were a few steps that I had taken against time. But I don’t regret anything.”
Like his contemporaries, Jimmy may have seen failure, but he is intrinsically a happy person. “I can’t undo anything. But if there were any fiascos in my life, I have learned some important life lessons from them. I have accepted things, but also realized the need to avert mistakes. I don’t go by what people say, but pay attention to feedback from those close to me."
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