Actor Jim Sarbh has played some impactful roles on the big screen as well as in the OTT space. As he completes a decade in the film industry, Jim expresses his disappointment over the hierarchy system on film sets. In a conversation with Hollywood Reporter India, Jim Sarbh also revisits his debut film Neerja and recalls hitting Sonam Kapoor with a gun.

‘I accidentally hit Sonam Kapoor’

Ram Madhvani-directed Neerja was released in 2016. Actress Sonam Kapoor played the leading role of Neerja Bhanot in the biopic. In the film, Jim Sarbh was seen as one of the terrorists who hijacked the plane. Recalling his first day of shooting for the film, Jim Sarbh revealed that he accidentally hit Sonam Kapoor. “On my first day on shoot, an accident happened. I accidentally hit Sonam Kapoor in the mouth with the gun. I told myself, ‘Oh my God, what have I done? ‘ I will never forget that intensity and panic. However, she was such a sport about it, and everyone else was enjoying what else I was doing, luckily I didn’t get fired off my first film; otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jim Sarbh (@jimsarbhforreal) 

Jim, who has been quite vocal about the process of filmmaking in the industry, also shared his views on hierarchies on film sets. He said, “That time, I was getting introduced to film hierarchy, coming from the theater space that was also very new and different. I don’t think I am still adjusted to it. All my experiences up until that time were that we were all working on a project together. I didn’t get it. Not that; that project was like that.”

Story continues below.
Subscribe to see fewer ads.

‘In the structure of the hierarchy, sometimes, people feel undervalued’

He went on to share his views on the hierarchy system further and said, “There are these very distinct hierarchies, which I think the more we can dissolve them, the better the future of filmmaking will be. When everyone has been picked because of what they do and for their contribution to a particular project, the more there will be a mutual feeling of respect amongst everybody. Then you will want to do your job the best. In the structure of the hierarchy, sometimes, people feel undervalued, and it creates a situation where mediocrity can also thrive. It’s complicated.” He even lauded his latest show, Titan, for being that project where this system didn’t exist.

In July, while talking on The Streaming Show podcast, Jim revealed how he was treated badly in his initial days in the film industry. “I was young, I was pretty hot-headed. I got angry. I couldn’t understand how people could be like this. I just couldn’t understand it. I came from some amount of working in the US, and then from a we’re-all-equal theatre space… I just couldn’t… I just could not believe it. It made me very angry. Angry and upset and hurt and disappointed… I just lie more. No one cares about your truth,” Jim had shared.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by prime video IN (@primevideoin) 

He further added, “But if I had to go back, I’d say, listen, you weren’t able to say what you wanted to say more kindly back then; just lie. Lie. Forget it. Go into a room, scream into a pillow, come outside and say, ‘I love that you somehow can’t afford a car to take us back home even though you’re paying us nothing at all, and the main actor drove up like this… I love that!’ I’m going to take the train!’ Lie, lie a lot. Tell your close friends the pain. No one else cares; they don’t care. ”

Jim Sarbh made his acting debut with Neerja in 2016; he later went on to star in films like Death In The Gunj, Padmaavat, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Sanju, and many more. In the OTT space, Jim has been seen on shows like Made In Heaven, Rocket Boys, Four More Shots, Made In India: The Titan Story, and more.