What has kept Jackky Bhagnani away from the limelight for so long?

Actor-producer Jackky Bhagnani, who has been missing from the limelight as an actor since 2015 film "Welcome 2 Karachi", says he wants to associate himself with films that inspire him as an actor.

"I have not been seen as an actor since 'Welcome 2 Karachi' and that was a conscious decision. From now on, I want to do work that inspires me as a human being and as an actor. I do not want to do films just for the sake of it. But you will be seeing me real soon," Jackky told IANS.

"I try to do work which makes me feel inspired and follow my heart. In the field of creativity, I feel you can't really plan too much. I believe people should follow their instincts," added the actor, who is the son of popular producer Vashu Bhagnani.

Talking about "Welcome 2 Karachi", Jackky said: "It was a fantastic opportunity to work in an out and out comedy film and make people laugh that too with a great actor (Arshad Warsi). I had never done a mad cap comedy before. Arshad is effortless with his comic timing and to match up to him was a real task.

"But he was very supportive and helped me deliver my best. One interesting challenge was that I was given only 48 hours to learn the Gujarati language with a fluent local accent."

Jackky, who has starred in films like "Kal Kissne Dekha", "F.A.L.T.U" and "Ajab Gazabb Love" all of which have been produced by his father, says being a producer's son he never tries to look at himself negatively.

"Every coin has two sides to it and I am an optimistic guy, so I always look at the positives. Obviously, if he is my producer, it comes with a lot of advantages and disadvantages. I try to disregard the disadvantages and only focus on the advantages," he said.

Jackky also turned producer in 2016 with Randeep Hooda and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer "Sarbjit". He says he is ready to produce more such films.

"I did 'Sarbjit' because I was really inspired and I wanted to be a part of that film; if not as an actor then in some way or the other. It was a story that needed to be told.

"Whenever there is a story that comes my way, irrespective of the genre, and I feel it needs to be told I would like to associate with it, even if I don't see myself as an actor in that film. I would obviously like to produce more films because this is the only thing I know in life - storytelling and cinema," he said.