I am at the mercy of what I am offered: Sharman Joshi

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MUMBAI - He is one of the “3 Idiots”, has also acted in hits like “Rang De Basanti” and proved his versatility in a wide range of roles, but Sharman Joshi says he still can’t afford to be picky and is waiting to turn director to choose his preferred genre.

“I don’t have the privilege to plan what film I want to do. I am really at the mercy of what I am offered by writers and directors. But if I ever turn into a director, then I would choose the genre I want to work in,” Sharman told IANS in an interview.

The actor, who will be seen next as a criminal from a slum in debutant actor-director Faruk Kabir’s “Allah Ke Banday”, says he doesn’t work hard to get into any character and relies on his instinct to play it with conviction.

“I generally like to rely on my impulse and vision of the director. So I didn’t spend time in the slums,” Sharman, 31, said about his latest film.

“I wanted to rely on my instincts; so I didn’t interact closely with any kid from the juvenile prisons because I didn’t feel the need,” said Sharman, 31.

Releasing Oct 22, “Allah Ke Banday” also stars Naseeruddin Shah and Atul Kulkarni.

The film narrates the story of two 12-year-old boys living in one of the most ruthless slums of India. From delivering drugs for the mafia to looting people, they do everything conceivable in the crime world because they aspire to be a mafia don.

“In slums, where people struggle for their daily meals, providing education to their children is a far-fetched dream. It’s a Catch 22 situation. The kids who grow up in this atmosphere unknowingly become susceptible to petty crimes starting from pickpocketing and with time graduate to more complicated crimes, even contract killing. Your heart goes out when you meet these kids.

“When they are put into juvenile prison to be refined into a better citizen, the inhuman exploitation they are subjected to raise their anger towards society and they come out as a bigger criminal.”

He heard the script three years ago and was bowled over.

“The idea was narrated to me three years back. I found it quite interesting. Faruk and me live in the same building actually. He took around six months to develop the story and the screenplay. Then he took time to cast other characters. It took a-year-and-a-half to prepare before starting the film,” said Sharman.

(Dibyojyoti Baksi can be contacted at dibyojyoti.b@ians.in)