AI generated summary, newsroom reviewed
Jim Sarbh is heading into a year of contrasts. The actor will be seen in filmmaker Mira Nair's biographical drama Amri and then also appear in Atlee's Allu Arjun-led sci-fi action epic Raaka, two films that could hardly be more different in scale or style.
In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, when asked about his upcoming lineup, Sarbh was careful about revealing too much ahead of release.
"I don't know how much I can say. I've never liked to speak about a project before release. I've always liked to speak — as much as anybody else —afterwards, because I don't want to colour your impression of the project. I'd much rather speak to you after, and then I'm happy to debate anything."
Amri is a biographical drama on pioneering Indian-Hungarian painter Amrita Sher-Gil, co-written by Nair and Clara Royer. Anjali Sivaraman plays Sher-Gil, with Emily Watson as her mother, Jaideep Ahlawat as her father Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, Krisztián Csákvári as Victor Egan, Anjana Vasan as Indira Sher-Gil and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Madame Azurie.
In the film, Jim Sarbh plays the role of art critic and lawyer Karl Khandalavala.
Sarbh singled out Ahlawat, Vasan and Csákvári as people he enjoyed working with, and credited Nair for the atmosphere she builds on set.
"She has created the most wonderful ecosystem where everybody feels deeply invested in the film," he says.
"All the departments are easy to talk to and hang out with, and they all have strong opinions. They're happy to discuss the scene in any depth that you would like to discuss, and I love that kind of a set."
Meanwhile, Raaka stars Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone and is produced by Sun Pictures. The big-budget feature also reportedly stars Mrunal Thakur, Rashmika Mandanna and Janhvi Kapoor.
The shift in scale, from Amri to Raaka, is something that amuses him.
"Atlee's set is a whole different experience, because it's enormous," Sarbh shares. "I'm getting to do things there that I have never done, and that's a whole different beast in itself. He also has incredible technicians and crew members involved in his production. I would literally walk on set, start talking about a new aspect that had been added, and see how it was constructed and how it moves. It's an incredible experience, entirely, wildly different from a Mira Nair set."