Celebrated director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, Padmaavat, hit the silver screens across India and abroad on January 25. This film, which was surrounded by both anticipation and controversy, received appreciation for the performances of its cast, as well as the visual spectacle it offered, from nearly every major critic upon its release (which was also mired in controversy). This approval and appreciation coincides with the huge box-office numbers the film has commanded. Padmaavat, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Shahid Kapoor as the main leads, is approaching the end of the third week of its run, and has scored impressive numbers at the box-office. Domestically, it has bagged over 300 crores (gross) and has earned nearly 200 crores (gross) in theatres abroad. The worldwide collection for Padmaavat now stands at nearly 500 crores and the movie inches ever-closer to this mark. In addition to making history with its nearly unprecedented box-office run, Padmaavat also made history by becoming the first Indian movie to release in IMAX 3D.
The movie, loosely based on the poem Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, has faced countless number of obstacles ever since its production came to light, mainly from Rajput groups (specifically Karni Sena). Nearly, all major players in the film’s development, production and release were threatened, with these groups even going so far as to assault director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In addition, the lives of the actors were threatened, and some groups voiced their intentions to chop off Bhansali’s head and actress Deepika Padukone’s nose if the movie received a theatrical release. Protests were held against this film across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Thus, even though the movie was originally set to release on December 1, 2017, the release was postponed to January 25, in order to allow time for courts to overturn bans of the film in specific states. Despite these major hurdles, Padmaavat reached fourth on the list of the highest third week grossing Bollywood films at the box-office.
Ranveer Singh, in this movie, takes on the role of the cruel ruler Alauddin Khilji. Deepika Padukone plays Rani Padmavati, and Shahid Kapoor plays Maharaja Rawal Ratan Singh, the husband of the Rani. The plotline of the movie surrounds the villainous Alauddin Khilji’s obsession with Rani Padmavati’s character (as she is known far and wide for her immense beauty and bravery) and his attempts at fulfilling his desire to capture her for himself.
As Padmaavat continues its historic run both in India and abroad, we take a closer look at the actor who, despite not being one of the film’s primary three leads, has essentially stolen the show. He has also earned universal praise, from both critics and audiences alike.

Jim Sarbh, who plays Malik Kafur, a eunuch slave-general, leaves the audience asking for much more of his character with his stellar performance. Though Jim has a limited number of scenes and shares nearly all of them with Ranveer, he shines in his own right through them all. His character’s relationship with Khilji’s character has been observed to have sexual undertones. And Jim Sarbh makes it quite clear with his performance that Kafur’s character would perform essentially any task in order to please the ruler.

In order to prove his loyalty, Sarbh’s character slaughters at whim, is visibly giddy when Khilji seems to be in a cheerful mood, and even tolerates being assaulted by Khilji when he’s displeased with his actions. He’s initially introduced as Ranveer’s possession by Khilji’s uncle-cum father-in-law and it becomes apparent through the film that Sarbh serves as the backbone of Khilji’s horrendous acts. The love of Malik Kafur for Khilji is highly evident in his efforts to appease his master’s every whim, desire, and fantasy.
Jim, who has only acted in four feature films until this point, has revealed that Ranveer was, in fact, the person who recommended his casting in Padmaavat. When he received word about the role, he was out of the country, and had to send his audition in. In this audition, he enacted the part of a slave and wanted Bhansali to witness his reaction to another actor sniffing and walking around him. After this, he was promptly casted for the role. Sarbh’s portrayal of a eunuch slave completely devoted to a tyrant borders on flawless.
He speaks about the difficulties in his transition from theatre to the film world, stating six key aspects of the film world that he had to adjust to. These included learning to manipulate the camera, in a way that would enable him to move and engage with something, and to use it in order to best express your character. Another was coping with the erratic shoot schedules: he speaks about an instance in which he was shooting a gruelling war sequence during the day for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. He then immediately had to get into a car, rush to the airport, and fly to Goa, where he was shooting for another film. After completing that shoot, he rushed straight back to Mumbai, and was told that he had to shoot again at 7 am the next morning! The next was learning to value precision over freestyle. He elaborated, stating that in theatre, raw emotion can take over, simply because the audience is physically present right in front of the stage, and they feel the emotions in a large wave, a feeling which will, more often than not, stay with them. Speaking about this aspect, Sarbh detailed, “During the shoot of Padmaavat, I enjoyed the process of working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali because of his eye for detail and precision. We would both look at a take and he’d be like, ‘You looked to the left for one moment’. When I watched it, I knew he was right because that one look changed everything. It made it look like my character was thinking about what to say instead of just looking up and have it come out pat.” He also had to reconcile himself with the fact that he would be receiving no instant feedback. He spoke about the adrenaline rush he receives while performing live theatre, saying “Theatre gives you the high of a live audience. Because of my theatre background, I’ve learnt to shut the door on a character after it’s done and move on to the next one.” Finally, he laments the fact that being part of the film industry means having to be able to manoeuvre the world of public relations and agents. He had this to say when pressed for details, “At this moment, my mind is more confused with the parameters of the world of movies and very little with the acting process. Honestly, acting is acting and you can do it anywhere. All of that is so much easier than dealing with agents, producers and schedules. That’s what drives me ba-na-na-s! I don’t know how to do it and I’m bad at it. I’m just not good at being diplomatic and I suffer as a consequence. I’ve always just wanted to act in films. If I have no fame and people want to cast me for the rest of my life that would be awesome!”



When asked about working extensively with his co-star, Ranveer Singh, Sarbh explains, “I really enjoyed working with Ranveer Singh. I think he is, as he puts it, an absolute delight to work with. As a co-actor, he is extremely reactive and responsive. He always brings energy and ideas and new ways to do a scene. After a gruelling long day, after having waited for a long time and giving many retakes, I would still leave the sets feeling alive. This can only be felt when two actors (your co-actor and you) are in perfect symbiosis and are striving to reach a peak that you know the scene has the potential for. Ranveer Singh gave me that opportunity. I don’t believe a miracle always strikes but with Ranveer as your co-actor, I always believed we were creating a hospitable environment for a miracle to happen and stay with us. That to me is arare and beautiful quality in a co-actor. And if you get it, you should hold on to it. He is a superb, superb guy.”
In turn, Ranveer also heaped praise onto Sarbh. When questioned about his experience working with the former musical theatre actor-turned-filmstar, what Ranveer said about Jim is, "Special talent, great vibe, great sense of humour and intelligent. Exciting to collaborate with. Chilled out!” He went on to add that he felt blessed to have worked with an actor of his calibre.
Sarbh, when asked about his experience being directed by the renowned Sanjay Leela Bhansali, had to say the following, “I enjoy that he really pushes you deep, to go and find the potential and hidden layers in the scene. I believe his eye for detail does not just have to do with the backdrop and the costumes and sets. It also has to do with the quality of the performance. I also believe if he sees that you are capable, he will push you till you do your best or till he gets the thing he wants and I love that.”

The actor had this to say about the complex relationship he portrayed onscreen with Singh, “I had no reservations. I think that this question is unnecessary. The way we played it without thinking much, the same way the questions should be. Not emphasizing the risk but instead emphasizing the normalcy.”

In the past, Jim Sarbh played the highly appreciated part of a terrorist in director Ram Madhvani’s Neerja, which also starred Sonam Kapoor. His performance in this film, stood out amongst a plethora of outstanding performances, including those of co-stars Sonam Kapoor and Shabana Azmi. Also, 2017 was a big year for Sarbh in terms of film: he was seen in the underperforming film Raabta, in which he played the antagonist, who would stop at nothing to receive the lead actress’ attention. He also appeared in a small, yet significant, role in Konkona Sen Sharma’s award-winning film, A Death in the Gunj.  That is an impressive oeuvre.

Often, Jim is questioned about his parallel career in theatre, which he has currently placed on the backburner. He says, “Nothing like the stage to make you feel good as an actor. However, right now, I am exploring acting in cinema and haven’t consented to any new stage commitment. I guess this is how it’s going to be for a while.”

Sarbh’s legions of fans can hardly await his return to the silver screen. Jim will likely soon be seen in Jonaki, a Bengali film directed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta. In this film, he will be playing the character of the love interest of an elderly woman, who has gone into a coma and begins rehashing her previous days with him. Another project Sarbh has lined up is the Sanjay Dutt biopic, which is slated to release in June. In this film, directed by Rajkumar Hirani and also starring Ranbir Kapoor, he is said to have quite a pivotal role, and will be essaying the part of a Parsi character. He will also be appearing in a web series made by Zoya Akhtar and Nitya Mehra, a project which he has been working on (in between his busy schedule shooting for films) for several months. Last but not least, he is a part of the film Teen Aur Aadha, which is directed by Dar Gai, and also stars Zoya Hussain. He expresses his hopes for a theatrical release for this particular film, explaining that he believes it has an extremely sensitive and beautiful script. Here’s hoping for a continued successful journey for this extremely talented actor! He’s like that rare star to have hit the Bollywood horizon... reflecting new light and new insights.
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