Jaaved Jaaferi reveals if he will return as commentator for 'Takeshi's Castle' reboot: 'It is one of the best things I've done in life'
Jaaved Jaaferi, who has been entertaining the audience for nearly four decades, was recently seen in ZEE5's Never Kiss Your Best Friend 2
Actor Jaaved Jaaferi, who has been entertaining the audience for nearly four decades, was recently seen in ZEE5's Never Kiss Your Best Friend 2. He has several other interesting projects lined up. The Free Press Journal caught up with the versatile actor for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:
How was your experience working in Never Kiss Your Best Friend 2?
I was also a part of season 1.5 in 2020, which was called a lockdown special. That was an extremely exciting project because of the way it was shot. Everybody was in their own homes, and we were shooting an entire web series from within our house. So that was quite intriguing. The makers then decided to get my character of Bittu Mama as part of season two. It is a parallel and a supporting track to the main track of Tanie and Sumer.
How was it working with Anya Singh and Nakuul Mehta?
I did a show called Boogie Woogie, and that has really helped me in life. For 17 years, I interacted with children and their parents. So that has kept me inquisitive and open to people and their way of thinking. The younger generation learns from the experienced, and the older generation learns from the excitement of the younger generation.
Viewers feel that you look quite young in the show. What's the secret?
Haha, obviously, they do a little bit of touch-up on the poster. I'll be 59 now. I keep a balance, and I don't go extreme. I tried to do that for six months, I followed a major diet that was medically recommended to me, but it didn't work. I lost a lot of weight, but I didn't want to look like that. I think we should enjoy the few good things in life and have your chocolate, ice cream, or your biryani once in a while. It's fine but keep the balance.
You made your acting debut as a villain with Meri Jung (1985). How did you switch from negative roles to comedy roles?
I was a villain right in the beginning, then immediately after that, I went into positive lead characters, not the solo lead, but it was always with other people. In 1994, I jumped into Channel V, and that was where the humour came out. Then I played a villain again in Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India! (1995) with Shah Rukh Khan. Recently, I played the villain in Besharam and Bang Bang. In Sooryavanshi also, my character was very serious.
Did your son Meezaan take any acting tips from you?
He asked me something with reference to a script once. So, I discussed that a bit. But I don't like to get into it too much, and I let him do it on his own. Maybe if I watch the performance, I can tell him to do it like this or like that. Or if I read a script, I can say maybe you can approach this scene like this. That's all. I would not sit and do a whole lesson with him.
Did you review his film Hungama 2?
Priyadarshan, as a director, works very differently. He had told him there was no script, and he would tell him what to do when he came on the set. Meezaan is not used to that. He is used to a script. I think he could have done better, but he did a good job. Certain scenes were so good. He's new now, and everybody grows. I look back at myself, and I see a huge difference in myself as an actor. I feel he's got a great screen persona.
Why are you not as active on social media as your contemporaries?
I really don't know. Maybe I'm not comfortable putting up things out there on social media. I think in India, you can't have opinions. It is a source of negativity. People can't take criticism or opinions. If you contradict them, they start getting abusive. I have my opinions and I was very active on Twitter but I realised there's so much hate and negativity and you don't want that emotional baggage. However, if you want to make a point, it's a great platform.
Will you be returning as a narrator for Takeshi's Castle Reboot?
I haven't been approached yet. I'm open and I would love to. A lot of people are commenting that I should come back, it's always being discussed somewhere. Takeshi's Castle is one of the best things I've done in my life. It was huge and I got so much love and respect through that show. People actually said I've been an integral part of their childhood and that is a huge compliment and a blessing.
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