‘YOU’VE TO BE CAREFUL WITH THE BLUFFMASTERS’
Jimmy Sheirgill opens up about actors being cheated of their hard-earned money by some producers and directors in the industry
No industry has been spared by the bluff masters and in the entertainment world too, actor Jimmy Sheirgill reveals that there are many people who become producers and directors from nowhere, especially in regional cinema, and cheat on actors of their hard-earned money. The 48year-old actor, who has worked in over 80 Bollywood and Punjabi movies, says that he too has encountered similar situations in the past.
“Some producers would come and say ‘Humein picture banani hai apke sath’ and have big vision of its success. They would say if we’ll get so and so actors on board, then my financer will give me money but they would’ve no clue about what filmmaking is all about,” says Jimmy who has films such as Maachis (1996), Mohabbatein (2000), Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Bas Ek Pal (2006), Tanu Weds Manu franchise, Special 26 (2013), and Mukkabaaz (2018) to his credit.
Given an impression of a big budget movie and good storyline, many actors agree to do it. But Jimmy points out, “The producer would borrow money from multiple people and start filming. At times, they also take advantage of the actors on board and borrow money from them as well by saying the film would be shelved because the budget has gone haywire. The actors do give in to their request and hand over the cheque thinking the money would come back. Basically, it has done more damage to you because they weren’t able to release your film nicely and your work didn’t come out as it was expected. There are so many films that get shelved because of this reason and even if it gets released, it doesn’t get the right treatment in its promotion and distribution.”
There have been many incidents in the past where actors have complained about not getting full payment for their work. On that, Jimmy shares, “Some producers say that they will make full payment after the movie gets released. But when the film flops, it becomes a reason or an excuse for not doing that as they show losses. You are left with what you have got. By the time you realise this and call them up, they avoid you or disappear.”
However, the actor feels that not everyone is like this. “You have to be careful with the bluffmasters. In any field, you’ll find cheaters. Earlier such incidents used to happen quite often but now there would be around 0.1 % producers like this. You’ll never face financial problems with the well-known producers who know how everything in showbiz works. Their paperworks would be in place and they also make payments on time,” Jimmy says.