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Jaaved Jaaferi: There was a phase when nobody was bigger than Big B, but he was also limited | Interview
Reflecting on his career, Jaaved Jaaferi addresses the pressures of commercial success in acting, as asserts that he has managed to not be stereotyped
Fresh off the success of Dhamaal 4, actor Jaaved Jaaferi reflects on his four-decade-long journey in the industry and the changing landscape of cinema. The 63-year-old believes that every generation of actors has its own strengths and shortcomings. He calls the younger lot “professional, serious and very focused on what they want”, but feels that “they’re in a hurry and are not very accommodating”.
“I think the younger lot, they’re in a hurry and they’re not very accommodating and all that. The good part is they are professional, they’re very serious, they’re very focused on what they want. So yes, there are these minuses and pluses,” he tells HT City, adding that every generation has its own way of working.
Known for his comic timing, Jaaferi reflects on the changing nature of comedy, noting that some aspects of it remain unchanged. “There’s a certain kind of humour that stays the same. Charlie Chaplin will never change, Mr Bean doesn’t change, Tom and Jerry doesn’t change. Dhamaal is that world,” he says.
Jaaferi further adds, “It doesn’t matter whether you watch it today or 10 years later. The fact is that it is this innocence of these stupid people that you’re enjoying. It can happen now, it can happen ten years later. My kids probably will still see it. There will be an audience who will like it... Dhamaal (2007) ko bhi aaj 19 saal ho gaye. Sensibility toh badli hai logon ki, but log abhi bhi dekh rahe hain.”
The actor believes one of the biggest challenges actors face is being a prisoner of their own commercial success. “I can’t say I’ve been stereotyped. I’ve done everything. I’ve played a villain, I’ve played crazy guys, serious films, this, that and the other. I’ve done everything. What tends to happen is whatever works commercially better, people start approaching you with that in mind, that this works with him. That applies even to the biggest of stars because the moment you become a commodity, they don’t allow you. That’s a sad place to be.”
Elaborating further he explains: “There was a phase when nobody had been bigger than Mr Bachchan. There was a phase when (veteran actor) Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan couldn’t do anything different because it didn’t work. Again, he was limited because the commercial aspects didn’t allow him to move. Now he’s doing the variations which he, as an actor, obviously wanted to do. The commercial aspects didn’t allow him to move."
Jaaferi says he has consciously tried to avoid that trap by making thoughtful career choices. “As an actor, though I have done a lot of work. But you have to space yourself out. The moment you saturate yourself, then it becomes a problem because if you’ve done everything. But by the grace of God, I managed it just right. I’ve played a villain, I’ve played crazy guys, done serious films as well. Yet I feel there is a lot more left to explore in me,” he concludes.
