Javed Sheikh opens up about Bollywood and Pakistan's film industry

Pakistani veteran actor Javed Sheikh has been doing Indian films for quite a while now, albeit the fact that he has not been able to score a central role so far in Bollywood. The Pakistani ace actor who has starred in countless drama serials as well as renowned Lollywood films over the years, talked about his hard luck finding key roles in Bollywood.

Javed Sheikh explained that he was in India as he was shooting for Indian director Imtiaz Ali’s upcoming film Tamasha. Javed stated that they had shot some scenes in Shimla and were headed to shoot additional scenes in Delhi. He further revealed that he was playing Ranbir Kapoor’s father in the movie, which also starred actress Deepika Padukone.

Admitting the fact that he had yet to bag a more prominent role in Bollywood, Javed stated the examples of Amitabh Bachchan in The Great Gatsby and Anil Kapoor in Mission Impossible, both of whom who had short roles in Hollywood flicks as well. He said that however, in this movie he had a more prominent role as he also would be having in his upcoming film with Muzaffar Ali.

Javed Sheikh also revealed how Lollywood had almost collapsed after seeing an optimistic 70s and 80s era, due to the fact that the industry failed to update itself. However, he expressed optimism in the current new crop of writers, actors and directors, stating that they were reviving the film industry with their uber talent.

In response to a question asked of him, Sheikh also stated that he preferred working in Pakistani dramas and had rejected Indian drama serial offers as they were very lengthy and went on for years. One show Meri Jaan Hai Tu which was currently being shown in India on Zindagi channel, would star him as the father of the male lead.