A well tailored suit, neatly done hair and making an entrance in a fancy car, Jim Sarbh’s recent roles are defined by these specific characteristics. But that isn’t how it started. The 37-year-old actor first played a negative character and attracted both filmmakers and the audiences with his debut, National Award-winning film, Neerja. Later, in 2018, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali cast him as the slave general Malik Kafur Padmaavat. Bollywood embraced Sarbh with open arms. “Neerja followed with a few more projects. In fact, I have been offered a lot of negative characters. When that keeps happening, you start wondering whether you’re being typecast. You also start getting a bit tired of it. I consciously took a break from playing those kinds of roles because it was resulting in just boring interviews,” he says.
What worked in Sarbh’s favour was his talent. One of his recent films, Pune Highway has now released on Prime Video. Directed by Bugs Bhargava and Rahul daCunha, the film is a tense, moody thriller that examines the corrosion of friendship under the weight of trauma and time. Borrowing its title and central conceit from daCunha’s acclaimed play, the film attempts to translate the intimate emotional drama of stage into a cinematic whodunit, set against the backdrop of past wounds and present crimes. Sarbh’s performance stands out as the emotionally volatile Vishnu, capturing a man torn between loyalty and personal demons. “My character in this film is a lawyer. But he ends up having to represent his friends,” adds Sarbh.
To stay by your friend is what true friendship means for Sarbh. The actor believes its one of the few choices we make as individuals. “You don’t choose your family, but you choose your friends. I’ve also had fights with my friends. For instance I had a fist fight with a friend but it wasn’t in anger. It was more like a play fight. Fights can also happen in the heat of the moment. As long as you can discuss the root cause of whatever has led to it, you as friends can come out stronger. If that’s not on the table for discussion, then you’ll come out weaker,” he says.
The actor was accompanied by Amit Sadh in Pune Highway. Their camaraderie was no less than magic. “The credit goes to the environment the directors created. The actors they took kind of matched the sincerity that was required for this film,” he adds.
Sarbh was also seen in south superstar Dhanush’s latest hit Kuberaa. The movie also stars Nagarjuna, Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles. The plot focuses on a beggar who undergoes a dramatic transformation while exploring greed, ambition, and moral dilemmas in his journey. The south debut came with its own challenges. It meant learning a different language. “It was great working in a different language. It was difficult. and undoubtedly challenging. I had to mug up the lines.”
Sarbh is all praise for his experience in working in Tollywood. He says, “They are lovely people and very warm. They are very happy with what’s happening on the set. They create such a loving, safe, happy environment that you really feel you can go there and try things and experiment without fear.”
Meanwhile, Sarbh also ventured into production—he backed two regional films that went on to receive international acclaim. The Marathi film, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2025 and the other one is a Bengali film, Baksho Bondi, starring Tillotama Shome, which premiered at Berlin Film Festival. “I think there are so many interesting stories just waiting to be told from all over the country,” smiles the storyteller.