Jimmy Sheirgill: Whether it’s a cameo or lead, being sincere is my only constant

Mumbai, December 6

Making his debut in 1996 with a small yet substantial part in Gulzar’s directorial ‘Maachis’, Jimmy Sheirgill is complimented as a ‘fine actor’ by the critics with a tag of being ‘underutilised’.

That is until the web series ‘Your Honor’ happened in which he is the face of the show.

Post the release of its second season now that the actor is receiving praise for his portrayal of Bishan Khosla, in conversation with IANS, Jimmy shared what keeps him going.

Earlier, the actor was appreciated for his acting in films like ‘Mohabbatein’, ‘Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai’, ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, and ‘Haasil’, among others.

Jimmy told IANS: “I know more than often I heard it from critics and fans that I should be seen more often and they say that I am ‘underutilised’. Look, when it comes to the choices of projects that I have done, even though the story is the main factor, many times I did a film also because of friendship. At times, after hearing the story I found a character more interesting than the hero of the film because ‘Mujhe tera character zyada pasand hai!’” 

“It is true that the character I played in ‘Your Honor’ is really well appreciated because the show overall worked. But very honestly speaking, whether it is a cameo or a lead role in a film or in a web series, my sincerity is the only constant as an actor for all these years.”

He went on, “Many times it has happened that a story looked very interesting on paper but when I reached the set for shooting, I realised things are changing. But for me, especially in those situations, I want to do my work sincerely and go back home...because when the audience watch us on screen, they do not know the story behind the story, right? And why should they? They should watch the show and they will engage with the narrative. Even if my role is small, the only thing I never want to hear from our audience is, ‘Jimmy ne kharab kaam kia’...no, that is not what I want to hear!”

In the web series ‘Your Honor’ he played the character of Bishan Khosla, a High Court judge. While in the first season he was doing everything to save his son Abeer in a hit-and-run case, in the second season the situation gets tougher for him to save his son as he killed a man who had connections with the mafia.

Admitting the fact that collaborating with the right kind of director always helps him to bring out his best performance, he described how his equation has evolved with Eeshwar Nivas, the National Award-winning filmmaker who is also the director of the show.

“I think actor-director relationship is so very important and for me more so. Eeshwar is a very good director and in the first season, we were having a lot of jam sessions because then we were building the character, creating the world of Khosla. Now, it is the graph and the flow of the narrative. There is an unsaid understanding we have, so during the shoot of the second season, he did not explain too much because there was no need. Our wavelength matches and that is very crucial,” said Jimmy.

Produced by Applause Entertainment, ‘Your Honor 2’ also features Gulshan Grover, Mita Vashisht, Mahie Gill, Yashpal Sharma, and it streams on SonyLIV. —IANS

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