Fighting against all odds

working hard

I was only 15 when I started working as an assistant director. I was asthmatic, lost 55 kg to become an actor, but then it took me six years to convince my father.

If I have reached this point then I don’t think small successes or failures can affect me,” asserts actor Jackky Bhagnani just before the press meet of his latest film Rangrezz.

Asked if he is worried that the film may not be a box-office smash, he confesses, “Obviously, I’ll be a bit disheartened, but it doesn’t mean I’ll stop working. Mr Bachchan triumphed after the 12th film.” Rangrezz is just his fourth!

What keeps Jaccky going is his positive attitude. “If you are persistent – the right way – people will notice your efforts. You have to be strong and positive because no one likes a bitter or negative person!”

This is especially true in a country where actors are under constant scrutiny. “If people have a perception that you are taking it easy then they like to test you. People don’t know about my past – that I was a recluse.

As the stories keep coming out, the scene too keeps changing. You have to be strong and stick to your beliefs. If you fluctuate, then people won’t take you seriously... I don’t want people to think I’m having fun and not serious about my work.”

It appears to be a conscious decision on his part “not to do too many things, as I live on a thin perception line constantly.” However, Jackky wants
to be “among the best in country.”

He says, “I don’t know if I’ll succeed but my hard work is already paying off. After watching my first film, Kal Kissne Dekha, no one would have thought – even in dreams – that I’ll come back with F.A.L.T.U. And now, Rangrezz has been released. My graph is going up. I just hope this continues.”

The reason for Jackky’s sheer positivism is his attitude in viewing each film as his first. “The day I get saturated and content as an actor, my journey stops. Every film should be like the first film... you must go on because everyday you learn new things,” says Jackky, who fell in love with filmmaking after watching his father, film producer Vashu Bhagnani.

“I have fought a lot against the current. So my struggle is like anyone else’s,” he says, matter-of-factly, not getting bogged down by the fact that he is the son of a film
producer. “It doesn’t bog me anymore since I am getting a lot of love from people wherever I go. Eventually, I can see this change in the industry. I believe that when you are honest, people notice it.”

What does Jackky have to say about the failure of his films? “A film works or not, that’s not in my control. There are so many individuals involved in the making of a film besides the actors. No one tries to make a bad film, but you don’t know which of the five fingers that form a fist, is messed up.”