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It has turned out to be a stellar year for Arshad Warsi. The actor, who has headlined two major releases this year: Welcome to the Jungle and Dhamaal 4, along with Rajkumar Hirani's comedy-thriller series Pritam and Pedro, will also be leading Tigmanshu Dhulia's upcoming crime-drama Ghamasaan, set to release on ZEE5 on September 11.
With classic comedies like the iconic Dhamaal and Golmaal series and playing one of Bollywood's most beloved characters in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., the actor has created a comfortable identity for himself in the comedy genre. But Ghamasaan required him to step into an entirely different persona.
Warsi tells The Hollywood Reporter India that at the time the film came to him, he wasn't consciously looking for a change and didn't have any particular desire to break from the characters we are used to see him play. He admits that even after three decades in the industry, he still gets just as nervous every time he starts a new project, while Tigmanshu Dhulia reveals that this nervousness is common among directors too.
Warsi shares while he wasn't actively looking to pivot from the roles he has previously played, "You have to keep your fingers crossed, and hope that a Tigmanshu lands up at your house and says that he wants you to do this film," he says.
This year also marks 30 years since the actor made his debut in Tere Mere Sapne (1996). Asked if he still feels nervous before a film's release, he admits that it's not so much the release of a film, but more the starting of a new one that gives him the jitters. "I still get nervous every time I start a new project, even if it's a sequel."
"The nervousness around the release, shockingly, has become less. My logic always tells me that I shouldn't try to control something beyond my abilities," he says. Warsi describes the nervousness as a "good energy" which also shows how interested an actor is in the project they are working on.
"Those who worry about the release most are the ones who worry about money," he remarks.
Dhulia feels it is different and difficult for the directors. "In my case, the release day is when I feel weak in the knees!" he says.
"I'm just lying there, unable to get up, and it goes on for weeks. Even when you are walking on the road or are in your car, you feel like everyone is looking at you," says Dhulia.
Warsi was most recently seen in the crime-comedy Jeevan Bheema Yojana and is next set to appear in Shah Rukh Khan's King, which is scheduled to release in theatres on December 24.