His Instagram handle is titled ‘mrfilmistaani’, referring to his first big film as a lead actor — the National Award-winning Filmistaan — and also to the impact that Hindi films have had on actor Sharib Hashmi. “I grew up in a chawl in Mumbai. Things were all close-knit. If, by chance, I would see a film playing on someone’s television through a window, I would stand and continue watching it. I saw Rajnikant’s Bhagwan Dada and Amitabh Bachchan’s Mard through a window,” recalls Hashmi, whose recent outing as JK Talpade in the web series Family Man has got rave reviews. He was also seen in Ujda Chaman, which released earlier this month. Though the film has been panned, his cameo has been appreciated. We speak to him as he winds up shooting for the day. He refuses to divulge details, but we have a strong inkling that it’s for season two of Family Man, which most of us who viewed the critically-acclaimed first season are perhaps looking forward to. “There was not a single reason for me to say no to Family Man. It is such a relatable story. My character was earlier a Bengali, a Ghosh, but the makers liked what I got to the table, and Ghosh became Talpade. We all have such a colleague who tries hard to be super cool, but he/she fails. That was Talpade, desperate for a cool quotient, but really who can be cooler than Manoj Bajpayee?” says Hashmi, 43. The actor, who debuted with Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, had watched the film industry evolve from an enviable vantage point. His father was ZA Johar, an eminent film journalist. “My father wrote for Mayapuri, an old film magazine. I grew up with people like Govinda sir, Anupam Kher, Raj Babbar, Gulshan Grover, Farah and Divya Bharti coming to my home. They were all friends of my father, and at that time those relations were genuine and not the PR effort that they are now,” says the Mumbai-based actor. Hashmi was fascinated with the glamour of the film industry early on, as he often attended film parties and premieres courtesy his journalist father. “I attended the premiere of Parinda, which completed 30 years recently. It was a different world then. I also saw many muhurats, which don’t happen anymore. Muhurats had the who’s who of the film industry in attendance and Centaur Hotel was a popular venue. Nowadays we have success parties, which take place over one weekend. Earlier success parties only took place after 100 days or silver jubilees,” adds Hashmi. His position was quite unique, of being “an outsider” but with inside access. “In the early nineties and late eighties, stars had bigger entourages, and sycophancy was the order of the day. That one secretary and one PRO (Public relations officer) ran the show. Now we have agents and contracts, everything is very corporate. Filmypana thoda kam hua hai, but the glamour is still intact,” says he. As a child, Hashmi harboured dreams of becoming “a hero”. “But alas, when I did grow up, I only grew up to be 5’4. In my head, even the supporting actors of those times were tall and good-looking,” confesses the actor, adding, “My dad always encouraged me, he even suggested that I should join the Asha Chandra acting school, but I didn’t take the plunge then.” With dreams of being a hero put on the back burner, Hashmi started as an assistant director on Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain (1998). Writing sketches for MTV came next. Ultimately, he joined the channel and appeared in many spoofs and sketches. Stints with other channels followed and a job opportunity took him to Dubai. “I came back within a month, as I missed Bombay. Meanwhile, I had acted in two films, including Slumdog Millionaire, where I had just one scene. If it was a normal Hindi film, they would have made a junior artist stand in, but I auditioned for the role by Danny Boyle,” says Hashmi, who then quit his plush job with an entertainment channel to give into the acting bug. For three years he toiled and gave auditions, but to no avail. Till he received a phone call from Shanu Sharma to audition for Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Hashmi played Shah Rukh Khan’s roommate in the film. Filmistaan came on the heels of Jab Tak Hai Jaan, when he was helping write dialogues for the film. It won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. “It took a long time. I sold my house, I was in debt. But I really wanted to give it my all,” says Hashmi. The actor is happy with the rising popularity of the digital platform, and how attention to detail and casting have changed the game for actors like him. “The audiences have evolved so much. While they enjoy the song and dance of big Bollywood films, they also notice the nuances of a web show like Family Man, with an ensemble cast of sorts. This attention to detail has made people like Irrfan, Nawaz bhai and Pankajji household names,” says he.
