Arshad Warsi once expected ‘gaalis’ from Jaya Bachchan, but got his debut role

Arshad Warsi has said that he once expected to get some “gaalis” from Jaya Bachchan, but ended up getting hisf irst acting job offer. Before he started acting in films, Arshad had worked as a production assistant and choreographer on several Hindi films. (Also read| Arshad Warsi: Sadly, I still can’t say that I’m part of the industry)

Arshad started his acting journey with the 1996 film Tere Mere Sapne, directed by Joy Augustine. Before films, he also worked as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman and later in a photo-lab.

Why Arshad didn’t want to try acting

In an interview with Humans of Bombay, Arshad said that producer Joy Augustine once asked him to send his pictures to Amitabh Bachchan’s office for an acting job. “I said ‘Dude I can’t act, don’t do this to me! I like my life, don’t ruin this.’ You meet people who come here to do a film and they don’t make it, and everyone knows that! It’s like they are out on the streets and people go, ‘Poor guy, came from his village to become a hero, he couldn’t. Look at him, now travelling in a bus.’ I didn’t want to be that guy,” Arshad said. Joy convinced Arshad to send the pictures as he had already discussed it with ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited).

Arshad expected Jaya to give him gaalis

He added that he soon got a call from Jaya Bachchan’s office asking him to make a visit and meet her. “I thought she is going to fire me! I thought, ‘Hmm Jaya Bachchan…let’s get fired by her, why not, Amitabh Bachchan ki biwi hai! Inke muh se do-chaar gaaliya achchi lagegi (That”s Amitabh Bachchan’s wife, if she hurls a few abuses at me..), it will be a story in my life…’Jaya Bachchan fired me, waah waah.’ So I went believing I will get fired. She kept asking me, do I speak Hindi, and I kept replying yes I do, in English, I was so nervous. Then she said, ‘You are doing the film.’ I died! I said ab khatam (everything’s over).”

He also said that he thanks Amitabh and Jaya, “every morning, all the time,” for all that he has because had it not been for them, he would not have reached where he is now.

This is not the first time Arshad has talked about it. In an old interview to Lehren, Arshad had said, “I had no inclination towards acting. I had never thought of being an actor. I was taken aback by [director Joy Augustine]. It was quite a surprise for me. I gave it a shot [and] clicked a few amateurish photographs by a friend. The photographs happened to go to Mrs Bachchan. She saw it, she liked it and said sign this guy.”

Arshad’s recent outing

Arshad was most recently seen in the second season of the web show Asur. He revived his role of an investigating officer in the show that explores Hindu mythology in the backdrop of a crime thriller. The show also featured Barun Sobti, Abhishek Chauhan and Sharib Hashmi.