An exclusive tte--tte with Jim Sarbh - Filmfare.

Jim Sarbh has left audiences amazed with every outing. As the psychopathic terrorist, Khalil, he was the catalyst in the award-winning narrative Neerja. He followed it up with textured performances in Raabta, A Death In The Gunj, Padmaavat and Sanju. Prolific in theatre, Jim featured in the Forbes India under 30 list in early 2015. Vickram Kapadia's The Merchant of Venice, Kalki Koechlin's The Living Room and Rajat Kapoor's What's Done, Is Done being a few of his popular plays. Jim is now poised to revel in roles that explore his vast potential on the big screen.

If burgeoning fans find the salt and pepper charm irresistible, his co-actors find Jim indomitable. The young actor describes his journey with a medley of adjectives overwhelming, enjoyable, difficult, strange, joyous...'. Those adjectives could well define the pleasure of watching him on screen too...

In fact, while he was shooting for his debut Neerja (2016), other cast members couldn't help commenting that he'd be hailed as the next Gabbar' of Bollywood. Ram Madhvani's biographical thriller was based on the hijacking of the Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan on September 5, 1986. It starred Sonam Kapoor in the titular role of the braveheart flight attendant Neerja Bhanot. Jim played a terrifying terrorist, the unpredictability of his character Khalil, keeping the audiences on edge. Uncontainable and wild, his was an overwhelming performance. Jim rightly describes his role as an adrenalin-filled experience'. 

While Dinesh Vijan's reincarnation love tale Raabta (2017) didn't befriend the box-office, Jim Sarbh as Zakir Merchant, a business magnate, made a mark. His was a measured and menacing performance. In the same year, he was seen in Konkona Sen Sharma's directorial debut, A Death In The Gunj. His eccentric flavour enhanced the film's eerie vibe.

However Jim counts Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat as his most enjoyable work till date'. His portrayal of Malik Kafur, the slave-general of Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) in Bhansali's drama this year won him praise. He matched Ranveer's maniacal energy with his nefarious mind games, his homosexual suggestiveness lending intrigue to their relationship. In fact, wrote critics, that the only way to humanise' Khilji was to view him through Kafur's perspective. "Being able to improvise with Sanjay sir and Ranveer was a blast, says Jim. Elaborating on how he got into the skin of the insane Malik Kafur, he says, "I thought of him as a lithe, fierce black panther, who slinks around with his big, grizzled tiger, master Alauddin Khilji. As his slave, he has hit the jackpot. He doesn't take people seriously. He finds them and their obvious, silly motivations amusing, he explains. "He's like the fool, cavorting around with kings and queens, irreverent and if so commanded, deadly, he defines his complex character further. Jim's nuanced give-and-take with Ranveer was a celebration of co-star chemistry.

After Ranveer in Padmaavat, Jim recently shared screen space with anther powerhouse performer, Ranbir Kapoor in Sanju. Rajkumar Hirani's blockbuster had him play the semi- fictional Jim Mistry a drug peddler-turned-real estate baron. Crafty and corrupt, he was the catalyst in Sanju's (Ranbir) cataclysm.

Jim has a special memory to share from the sets of Sanju, "I enjoyed shooting the scenes with Boman Irani and Ranbir. I didn't have many lines. But I got to watch both of them playing off each other. I enjoyed that experience. Seeing what they were doing in the moment, and how it translated onto the screen, was wonderful, says the actor. He declines comparing Ranveer and Ranbir. "They both are fun in their own ways. I don't like comparing actors. It doesn't make any sense. This bizarre and ferocious competition numbs the spirit and does not allow for sensitive portrayals, he says.

Jim's obsession with acting can be traced to his deep roots in theatre. The Parsi lad grew up partly in Mumbai and Australia. He completed his undergraduate degree in psychology from the Emory University in the US. Next, he began working with the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta for a year as a literary intern. Jim moved back to Mumbai in 2012 and took to drama in the home- ground as well. His performance as Happy Loman in Alyque Padamsee's revival of Death Of A Salesman drew attention. He also acted in Rajat Kapoor's What's Done Is Done, Vikram Kapadia's The Merchant of Venice, Kalki Koechlin's Living Room among others. Later, he made his directorial debut with Bull and writing debut with Eat. In fact, he was listed in Forbes India's 30 under 30 list in 2015 for his contribution to Mumbai theatre.

The passionate actor has explored the short film genre with Mama's Boys by Akshat Verma and Like Summer Like Rain by Gouri Dutt. He was also part of Natasha Mendonca's Ajeeb Ashiq, an independent film on gender identity and sexuality. A work in progress, Jim doesn't wish to limit himself to playing the super villain. That's why he's got an interesting schedule lined-up. "My films, Aditya Vikram Sengupta's Jonaki (about an 80-year-old woman searching for love) and Daria Gaikalova's Teen Aur Aadha (the story of one house in three different eras) are doing the festival rounds, he smiles. He's also done Hollywood director Michael Winterbottom's (tentatively titled The Wedding Guest) starring Dev Patel and Radhika Apte. Being part of the web series Made In Heaven, helmed by Zoya Akhtar, is another feat.

Sharing his experience of playing these multi-hued characters, Jim says, "Sometimes, a character trait that I add becomes the seed for developing the whole character. Sometimes, I just imagine what kind of person would say these lines and do those things, he says. "At times, I imagine an animal and take it from there. Trying to wrap my head around a confusing moment gives birth to the rest of the character, he sums. But one thing's for sure. He's tired of playing wicked. He wishes for an onscreen redemption. He wants to explore the spectrum of human emotions the good, the bad and the ugly