Three Idiots famed actor lands in Bengali cinemas

Sharman Joshi planned to move toward Bengali cinema with “Bhalobashar Morshum”.

Whilst reflecting on his experience with the new industry, the actor said, “I had a good time making the movie. We still have one week’s schedule left to finish the film, and it has been a thrilling first-time experience for me”.

When asked about the challenges of the language barrier, Joshi explained, “I had the English and Hindi adaptations of the script, so I read them both. Bengali was an entirely foreign language to me. The chief AD used to sit with me before every scene for about half an hour to guide me while I practiced my lines. I delivered them very cleanly; even though I didn’t speak the language, I was able to emote in it.”

Asked if he learned any Bengali during the process, he quipped, “I’m not good with languages, so there is going to be a dubbing artist. In fact, even with the Hindi films I have done, I hardly remember any of my dialogues. There is a theatre director who taught me to forget everything I have done before starting any new work. He taught me not to carry any baggage from my earlier roles, and this has become my practice now”.

In addition to his Bengali movie, the actor is returning to his theatre roots this month. “I am working on an English play that is set to open on January 25,” he shared. “It’s the language I am most comfortable in, although I have only done one English play in the past. It features two stories: one is a cross-cultural romantic comedy-drama titled ‘Dear Sundari’ that uniquely tackles the challenges of language. The other is titled ‘Goodbye Kiss,’ which is a conversation between ‘Theatre,’ represented by a woman, and an actor leaving the medium.”