Bollywood actor Sharman Joshi’s career can only be described as a mixed bag. Brilliant films such as 3 Idiots and Life In A … Metro sit alongside questionable films such as Hate Story 3, an erotic thriller, and the clunky supernatural comedy Gang Of Ghosts.
But Joshi, whose horror film 1920 London is out in the UAE this weekend, wears the dubious distinction proudly.
“When I chose to do an erotica, my near and dear ones questioned my choice at that point of time. But it was a space I thought I should do. I was getting bored with those good guy-next-door roles that came my way,” said Sharma in an interview with tabloid!.
After winning hearts as the God-fearing student Raju Rastogi in the massive hit 3 Idiots, Joshi was flooded with similar roles that required him to be a sweet, uncomplicated, regular bloke.
So is his latest film 1920 London, a horror film in which he plays an exorcist, an attempt to stir things up in his career?
Eyebrows were raised when this father of three, with an eternally boyish face and an unthreatening demeanour, cropped up in this horror film’s poster looking solemn and fierce with long, flowing hair. 1920 London is the third instalment from the 1920 series by producer Vikram Bhatt, the Shonda Rhimes of Bollywood horror.
“It’s not my hair. If you look carefully, there’s a spirit behind me. A witch is upside down hanging just over my head. It’s a unique artwork and is complimentary to the nature of the film. I love that poster.”
Joshi plays Jai, an exorcist who is called on to help a London-based couple, Shivaangi and Veer (played by Meera Chopra and Vishal Karwal), who have been experiencing strange things ever since the husband returned from a trip to Rajasthan with a gift.
“1920 London is an intense, complex love story … When Vikram [Bhatt, producer] approached me, he had doubts if I would be interested to be a part of it. I asked him why, and he said most of the actors shy away from the genre,” said Sharma.
Perhaps Bhatt had a point. Hindi horror films are often substandard and unintentionally funny. Scenes such as a woman in a white sari, symbolising an eerie ghost, have been overdone for decades. Joshi says that 1920 London has kept away from those hackneyed plot devices.
“Horror, on the whole, has not been explored much in Hindi cinema. And as far as the Indian cinema context is concerned, the audience largely leans towards romantic or comedy films. But we have attempted something different here,” said Joshi.
In real life too, the actor isn’t sceptical about the supernatural elements and unexplained forces in nature.
“I believe in the presence of spirits. As Vikram once aptly said: ‘if there is good, there has to be bad; if there’s day, there will be night and if there’s good in this world, there has to be evil too. If you believe in God, there has to be an evil aspect too. I am intrigued by it all, but I have never acted upon it,” said Joshi, who boasts of close friends who have gone on quests to understand the supernatural.
Joshi also drums up the appeal of his latest film by adding another dimension: 1920 London could be that perfect date movie.
“The women tend to catch a guy’s hand or hold onto the guy’s arms or hands — whatever they can get hold of,” said Joshi with a laugh. Nonetheless, Joshi claims his scary drama — which is up against Sunny Leone’s thriller One Night Stand this weekend — has universal appeal. (“I wish her the best too”, he says of Leone).
His sensible approach isn’t limited to wishing his competition luck. The actor, with incredible potential, realises that the success that he tasted with 3 Idiots may never repeat itself.
“I don’t think there will be a Sholay in Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmendra’s lives or careers’ ever again. Just like that, the magic of 3 Idiots can never be repeated. It was pure magic and had that extra edge... I don’t want that in my life again... But what I do want to do is to explore what I am capable of.” His game plan is to live life and make career choices that he can truly call his own.
“As an actor, I have faith that I can play different forms of character and keep it constantly challenging, unpredictable for myself … I cannot work as per perceptions that have been created in the minds of the people or as per the expectations of me as an actor, then it won’t be my journey. Then it is their journey and I am living it out for them. First I want to have a good time and hope and pray that the near and dear ones will have a good time too.”
Don’t miss it!
1920 London is scheduled to release in the UAE on Thursday.
