Sharman moves away from comedy

Mumbai, Dec 22 (IANS) He whooped it up in the comedy 'Golmaal - Fun Unlimited', but Sharman Joshi who started his career as Shabana Azmi's truant son in 'Godmother' says he enjoys serious films.

After the immense success of 'Golmaal', Sharman said no to Indra Kumar's 'Dhamaal'.

'Yes, I said no. But it isn't as if I'm tired of comedy. It's just that the actor within me craves to try out as many genres and styles as possible,' Sharman told IANS.

'So, yes, my next two films were more serious in tone - Anurag Basu's 'Life In a... Metro' and 'Raqeeb', a Raj Kanwar production for T-Series, which Anurag Singh directed. So, it's a break from comedy,' added the actor who comes from a family of distinguished theatre actors.

'Both my father and uncle are from the theatre. And I'd happily return to my theatre roots whenever my film career ceases to satisfy me. Films are an uplifting experience for me right now. I'm totally into it.'

There was a long gap between 'Godmother' and the avalanche of comedies that followed in Sharman's career.

'I really enjoyed doing 'Golmaal - Fun Unlimited'. And I'm very proud of all the comic films I've done. In fact, N. Chandra's 'Excuse Me' and its sequel 'Style' got me into the thick of Hindi films,' confessed the 33-year-old actor who got a fresh lease of life with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Rang De Basanti'.

'Actually, everyone connected with the film benefited immensely. It was like a new beginning for me. Suddenly the quality of roles improved.'

Married for seven years, Sharman has a baby. Strangely he doesn't put that large a premium on success.

'I do value success. But I don't do a film with one eye at the box office. For me work satisfaction is far more important than success.'