Actor Jaaved Jaaferi’s latest outing, The Magic of Shiri, is now streaming on OTT. The film, which was scheduled to release in 2023, faced a significant delay after the Jain community objected to certain scenes and the portrayal of its people in the show.
In an exclusive chat with Free Press Journal, Jaaferi opens up on the increasing sensitivity of the audience towards certain topics and how it affects the filmmaking process at large. “Today, the most common phrase that you will hear is ‘You have hurt our sentiments’. It’s happening a lot nowadays. I feel there is a lot where people are not taking cinema with a pinch of salt. But you have to do it, because that’s what cinema or stand-up comedy is. It’s a story. It’s fiction at the end of the day,” he states.
Elaborating his stance further, he explains, “Whatever movies we grew up with, we never saw any religion in that. We just saw characters. It never mattered who was what religion. They were just stories about people. But now, I believe things have become a bit more sensitive. I hope we get out of it at some point.”
Jaaferi also spoke about how the increasing scrutiny has affected the kind of films and shows that are being made at present. “When we say ‘audience’, there are like 100 crore people. Out of them, there are maybe 10 lakh who make that noise. Now if those 10 lakh people go out and make a big boom and threaten and all of that, people who are in the business of it will say that they don’t want those controversies happening. They feel, ‘We don’t want problems. We just want to do our business. And if this is affecting our business, then let it be’. Because they are being pushed by this little minority,” he states.
When asked if there is one thing that Jaaferi would like to change about the industry using magic, he replies, “There was an organic process to cinema. Now it has become a business. It’s very corporate. It’s just about numbers. There’s a soul which goes missing. I would like to take it back to where it was organic, when filmmakers had passion, and the passion ruled.”
He also mentioned how the young generation of actors today lacks patience. “The whole journey in showbiz is about having patience. I understand actors have different ambitions. Some come to be great actors and improve their craft. They want to be absorbed in the whole process. Some want to come and be stars. Some want fame. Some want money. It all boils down to what you want. And a lot of them today, I see they want the money and the fame, while there are very few who love the craft,” he quips.
“I understand the money part of it. It is necessary for survival. But as an actor, it is very important to think about how can you give a different touch to your character. An actor is all about observing, absorbing, and then exuding. That is the real job of an actor,” he concludes.
