From the time OTT has boomed, there has been plethora of content for the audience to choose from. One such piece of work is Janhvi Kapoor starrer GoodLuck Jerry. From the time its trailer was released, I was intrigued. Janhvi’s co-star, Jaswant Singh Dalal, who plays a prominent role shares with his experience of being part of project and his journey from director to actor in an exclusive interaction with us.
Watch the trailer here:
Read excerpts from the conversation here:
On his change of career from army to films
I come from the army background as my dad was in the army. He also wanted me to join the profession, when I was in college, I joined a drama society of my college. During my first play, people clapped a lot, It made me think, it is a loved profession if you are on stage. In my third play, I got a best actor in my college. After that I thought of talking up acting.
On being a batch mate of Rajkummar Rao, Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat…
We were 20 students in the same batch of FTII. Right now they are big names, they are still my friends. They were hardworking especially Rajkummar, he is focused from the start.
On switching to direction…
I am from FTII, so first six months we do sound, editing, direction. Then we choose our specialization. When I came to Mumbai, it is a city where you have to survive first. So I became an assistant director, I did educational films, documentaries. Till 2013, I was in production zone, In 2014, I signed a film NH10. My career didn’t take off, Then I produced a feature film called A Billion Colour Story. The film received many international recognition and awards. Then I again thought of being an actor and did a show called Thinkistan. Then GoodLuck Jerry happened.
On being associated with Mukesh Chhabra…
Yes, I know Mukesh from the year 1999, he was my senior when I was doing theatre in Delhi. He knew that I was into production. He always told me if I good part comes, I will definitely try you. For GoodLuck Jerry he called me and took my audition along with the director. And, that’s how I got my role.
On working with Janhvi Kapoor…
It was fantastic, she is down to each and humble person. I found her to be an honest actor. She knows what she is doing, she is honest with her craft. In the beginning I thought she is a star kid, if I will be able to gel with her. When I met her during the script reading sessions, I found her to be chilled out.
On sharing screen with Vijay Sethupathi…
This is another project called Farzi on Amazon Prime Video. Vijay Sethupathi is my favorite actor and again Mukesh Chhabra comes into the picture. He had called me to audition for the part and I got selected. I have never seen any actor in my life like the way he improvises. He is a Tamil actor, the show is in Hindi he knows every scene every episode. He never goes overboard. He is fantastic. He is one of the best actors we have.
With GoodLuck Jerry nearing OTT release and other interesting projects in hand, Jaswant Singh Dalal is on the right track,