‘I don’t consider myself a comedian’

[1]

Arshad Warsi takes advantage of a rare and unexpected day off from shooting and does some serious lounging at a popular restaurant in the city — with a book, some grilled fish and beer. With a packed schedule occupying him all day and commuting around the city taking up the rest, he hasn’t had much time to chill out since he got here.

“Vacation?!” he scoffs, “I wish I had the luxury of taking a vacation,” and breaks off to tell an excited and gushing fellow-diner, “Oh yes, Jolly LLB will be out in March.”
Talking about the film, he says, “It’s a lovely satire on India’s court system. I play the titular character — an underdog lawyer who pops up from nowhere to take on this hot-shot veteran (played by Boman Irani). The promos have created quite a stir and the response has been very good.”
When the conversation moves on to comedians taking on lead roles and shouldering entire films, it is obvious that Arshad doesn’t like being pigeonholed as a funnyman. “I really don’t consider myself a comedian. I am an actor, simple. I am capable of doing any role,” he says.
It’d seem he is only grudgingly giving in to popular demand when he signs on as the comic relief.
He laughs it off, “A good script is very important. I don’t care about the genre, whether it’s a multi-starrer, whether it’d be a commercial hit,” he says.
Does that explain his penchant for sequels and the fact that very rarely does it live up to the original and the obligation of signing them? “Yes, I have done a fair share,” he admits. “There is a certain amount of obligation but we do have a say and more often than not, the director trusts our judgment. There is an attitude to cash in on the popularity of the first film and repeat whatever worked. That’s wrong. A sequel requires 10 times as much hard work.”
And thus, he presents us with the perfect opening to ask that question we have been dying to ask him — Whatever happened to Munnabhai Chale Amerika? “Yes, I am aware we have been keeping the fans waiting for too long. The project kept getting delayed due to various circumstances and then Raju, Sanju and I got busy in our own projects. But the script is ready. It’s lovely — bizarre and fun — and we will start shooting it by the end of this year,” he smiles.