By Nivedita
New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) He created an impression with his powerful portrayal of negative characters in films like "Neerja", "Raabta" and "Padmaavat", but actor Jim Sarbh now wants to look beyond these "one-sided characters" as he says he is really tired of playing people "who don't care about" others.
"When I played these roles, they were the only ones that were offered to me. However, now I have the liberty to be a lot more selective. I am a little bored of playing negative characters. I want to now look at meaty, complicated roles. I am not interested in one-sided characters," Sarabh told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai, where he was the part of the celebrations of premium menswear brand Selected Homme.
Some of the high street fashion labels -- Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Only, Junarose, Only & Sons, along with Selected Homme -- hosted a celebration at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai that was attended by Bollywood's young brigade -- Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Kiara Advani, Shikha Talsania and Priyank Sharma, along with Sarabh -- who walked for their respective brands.
Talking about his previous roles and the kind of characters he wants to do in future, Sarabh said: "I am really tired of playing characters who don't care about people. I now want to start portraying characters who care about people."
His portrayal of Malik Kafur, the slave-general of Ranveer Singh's character Alauddin Khilji in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmaavat", brought him loads of appreciation.
The actor says that working with Bhansali has helped him in mastering the basics of acting.
"Sanjay has a very keen eye for detailing. It's all about making a beautiful frame and filling that frame with equally detailed, subtle, nuanced acting. I am very happy I got a chance to be a part of that process. I learnt a lot about precision, it was like an accelerated course in the basics of film -- hitting your mark, eyeline, learning the frame, its angles.
"Thanks to this process, I am now much more comfortable being on any other project or set. Because I have mastered the basics," Sarabh said.
For the actor, Malik Kafur was a brilliant character.
"The moment I read the script, I knew I wanted to essay the role. I thought the character was so interesting and had so much scope and playfulness to it," he said.
Talking about his future projects, he said: "There is a web-series 'Made in Heaven' I am currently working on. I also worked on a film earlier this year with Michael Winterbottom that also starred Dev Patel and Radhika Apte which is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Another film that I worked on in Dubai... with Neel Kumar directing it. "
Since he was at a fashion event, how serious he is about trends? "I almost never take it very seriously. I wear what I like to wear," he confessed.
"I don't really know or care about trends. However, I really like things -- materials. Like all of us who would be at a fashion show, I am a materialist -- I appreciate and enjoy pretty, attractive and striking or subtle, subdued things that speak for themselves. People would call this fashion, but that's not how I view it. I look at it as something I like, and I let the look do the talking," said the actor.
(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
