Actor Jaaved Jaaferi has been in the industry for more than three decades now and has been increasing the entertainment quotient of every production he has been a part of. It would, however, be wrong to limit him only to entertaining roles as the actor has shown diversity by playing different ranges of characters. Having said that, an actor’s image is generally formed based on the characters we have seen them portray the most.
On being asked whether he is still pigeonholed as a comic actor and has missed out on playing certain kinds of roles because the audiences expect a certain kind of character from him, he answered, “My character in Sooryavanshi is not at all comical. There was a web series I did, called Final Call, in which I, again, played a serious role that was quite appreciated by the audience. There are probably two, three projects that I felt I could have done, but it is fine and you move on. There is no point in trying to think why something didn’t happen. Nowadays, OTT platforms are helping creative people, whether they are writers, actors, or directors by giving them several opportunities, and OTT got their loyal subscribers and a lot of content is being made as well. So it is a very good time for people like me who likes to creatively expand and see what is new and explore different venues.”
He has added a lot of flavours to the films he has been a part of but does the actor also look forward to playing a solo lead someday, we asked.
“In a way, the only solo lead I have played is in a film called Jajantaram Mamantaram; it became a cult film. But I do feel I could have carried a lot of stuff on my own. And I think today also there’s an opportunity because roles nowadays are not age-related. It doesn’t have to be a 26-year-old guy playing the lead, it can be a 50-year-old, 60-year-old guy playing the lead. So I think that’s where OTT gives the opportunity. You can create stories that are related to every age. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that. It is not something I can’t take responsibility for.”
Besides being an actor, he is also widely known for lending his voice to shows, with his characteristic way of talking and mimicking achieving a fan status of his own. Currently, he can be heard in Sony Yay’s show Ding Dong Bell, Masti Ka Khel.
The plot of the animation show follows three chicks who constantly try to outrun a hungry fox, creating funny plot twists to escape him. Talking of the show, the actor says he is hopeful about the growth of the animation industry in India.
“If this works well, then a lot of avenues can be experimented with in the kid’s directory, and specifically with animation. We can do animation for a slightly older age group too like how they do in America with shows like South Park and The Simpsons that cater to a wider audience,” he said.
“The animation industry in India still needs to grow. Abroad the market is bigger so they can afford to have bigger animations. In fact, some of the biggest grossing movies in Hollywood have been animated films, for example, The Lion King. But in India somewhere we are yet to have that acceptance for animation,” he concluded.
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