Jogira Sara Ra Ra is your second film with producer Naeem Siddiqui, director Kushan Nandy and writer Ghalib Asad Bhopali, after Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017). Other filmmakers have not explored my comic streak in the way they have. In my first film with the three, I played a character inspired by James Bond, and it had a lot of dark humour. Jogira is a romantic comedy, and also my first family entertainer.
Your personal life has been making headlines more than your work, of late. Your comments.
It upsets me, but I have learned to take things in my stride. I don’t have the time to be sad since I am busy working. When I feel the need to share my problems, I turn to the two most important people in my life, my mother and daughter.
Are you happy with the way your career has shaped up?
It is fulfilling. For me, it’s the content that matters, not the medium. The journey is more important than the destination. I have always been passionate about cinema, irrespective of whether my films have worked or not. For me, the high point is when a scene is executed well on the sets.
Has any film left an indelible mark on your life?
My role in Manto changed me a lot. It gave me a fair amount of guilt. We often lie about the smallest things in our day-to-day lives; the character made me question why. My upcoming film, Haddi, directed by Akshat Ajay Sharma, has also impacted me. I play a transgender. Before starting work,
I met many transgender people to understand their challenges. Raman Raghav 2.0, and to some extent, Thackeray, and Ganesh Gaitonde in Sacred Games are other roles that affected me deeply.
Do you take your characters home? How long do you take to come out of intense roles?
When I am working on a film, I am completely in the zone, for weeks or maybe months. But, the moment I realise that it’s getting hard to shake off the character, I pack my bags and go back to my village.
I mingle with people and listen to their stories. It helps me forget about my struggles and return to normal.
Tell us about your forthcoming projects.
There’s Haddi, which I just wrapped up. The shoot is underway for my first Telugu film, Saindhav, with Daggubati Venkatesh, and it’s been a great experience working in the south. I also have Adbhut and Tiku Weds Sheru, both with director Sabir Khan. Next in line are Noorani Chehra and Bole Chudiyan.
I also finished shooting for a German film recently.