Jimmy ShergilI: I deserve much more money than they’re giving me at this moment
However, Jimmy Shergill is happy as long as somebody, who promises him less, delivers it on time.
Actor Jimmy Shergill has been in the entertainment industry for 30 years now and has proved his acting potential with back to back great performances in big and small roles. While appreciation has always come his way, the actor feels he is not compensated fairly for his hard work. When asked if he get what he deserves in the industry, the actor says, “No! I don’t know about anything else but I think I deserve much more money than they’re giving me at this moment for the kind of hard work that I put in.”
He goes on to explain how that’s also because of the image he has created of himself over the years. “Main shuru se thoda experimental raha. I have always had the urge of doing something different and did roles that were good even if the screentime was not enough...or even when they were not very meaty and even if the makers did not have enough funds for the actors’ fees. But that created an impression ki ‘arey ye toh free mein bhi kar leta hai’. I guess everybody tries to save money from negotiating and all that and that’s why I wasn’t given as per the amount of efforts I put in,” explains the actor whose project Choona recently released on OTT.
But Shergill belives in feeling happy in doing what one is doing instead of complaining about other factors. “I’m enjoying my work. And most importantly, as long as somebody promises me less but delivers it on time, it’s alright. It is at least better than failing or not actually delivering,” he says, adding, “I have been here for 30 years now. A lot (of such incidents) has happened (laughs).
While he accepts the fact that OTT offers artiste a platform to experiment, Shergill tells us that that’s not the reason he is doing more and more OTT projects. “Everyone’s saying that OTT is giving you time to experiment. But I’ve experimented with myself my whole life. I’ve always tried to do something different at some point. I was doing solo leads and moved on to doing supporting roles, because I found them more meatier. I was a little worried initially that am I doing the right thing by giving up these solo films and moving on to doing these kinds of roles but now when I look back at it, I feel I’m glad that I took the chance of getting out of that chocolate boy image,” he shares.
And now, the actor would want to show audience another side of him. “I want to do light-hearted, comedy roles now. I know I’m pretty good at it and I want to show it to others,” he expresses his desire