Actors need to play challenging roles to entertain audiences: Sharman Joshi

Actor Sharman Joshi, who has tried the horror genre for the first time through his latest release "1920 London", says actors should try to challenge themselves by doing a variety of films to entertain audiences in a different way every time.

"I'm not trying to setup any image for myself by doing erotic thrillers. I haven't specially designed anything for me. I just try to take up projects that come my way," Sharman, who is known for playing sweet and bubbly characters onscreen in films like "Rang De Basanti", "Golmaal" and "3 Idiots", told IANS.

"I love to try different genres. I'm doing the kind of work that I like to do. I love challenging myself. Being an actor, I need to challenge myself with different roles every time if I wish to entertain the audience," added the 37-year-old, who has been a part of the entertainment industry for over 15 years.

The third installment in the popular "1920" franchise, "1920 London", which released on Friday, is directed by Tinu Suresh Desai. The story of the film has been written by Vikram Bhatt.

"I really liked the script of the film. Also the fact that I haven't tried this genre before. So, I was really excited to star in it. I got a strong character to portray. It's very meaty and challenging for me as an actor," Sharman said.

Though he added that Bhatt was a "apprehensive" at first to cast him in the role of exorcist.

"He (Bhatt) was not sure whether I would do a film in this genre. But I said I have no doubt in my mind. I'm playing the role of an exorcist, whose name is Jai Singh. He helps people, who have any evil spirits or any supernatural element in their lives," he said.

Asked whether he believes in the so called parallel world, Sharman said: "I wouldn't be surprised if I'll come across a supernatural element or a ghost in real life.

"I believe in energies and feel that parallel world do co-exist. Though I don't know how much scared I'll be when I'll face them, but I would love to experience it some day".

Do erotic thrillers set up a negative image of an actor?

Sharman said: "I'm not sure about that. It's just my second thriller film after 'Hate Story 3'. So I'll have to go through this whole journey and then decide whether such films create a negative image of an actor or not. The kind of character I'm playing in '1920 London' is a positive guy. I'm not nervous about trying different genres."

Interestingly, after "1920 London", Sharman will star in another erotic thriller for "Hate Story 3" director Vishal Pandya in the upcoming film "Wajah Tum Ho".

"I'm playing the role of a police officer in that one. That's also first time I'll be seen as a cop onscreen. The film is very exciting for me," Sharman said.

(Sandeep Sharma can be contacted at sandeep.s@ians.in.

--IANS

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