Recently, a video of Jim Sarbh mocking an unnamed actor for claiming they were stuck in character and needed therapy went viral. Many believed he was talking about his Padmaavat co-star Ranveer Singh but Jim took to Instagram to clarify the statement. (Also Read: Nawazuddin defends Ranveer Singh amid actors undermining his acting process: ‘It is a very irresponsible thing to say’)
‘Making fun of actors who exaggerate the process’
Sharing a long note on Instagram, Jim captioned it, “I usually don’t respond to speculative videos and articles, because they’re boring and I assume people know better. Ofcourse, just like some of you, I assumed wrong. Too many people have forwarded me things, and now journalists/interviewers are ‘identifying’ me as a ‘critic’, despite me never having mentioned anyone at all, let alone @ranveersingh.”
The note reads, “I find this almost absurd to have to clarify, but since folks are running wild with the videos and the articles. Nothing I said refers to Ranveer Singh. The video byte being shared is from made in heaven season 2 promotions, 5 whole years since Padmaavat came out. 5 years. I only had lovely things to say about Ranveer as a co-actor – look it up. I still do.”
Jim also clarified that his statement was ‘not an attack on process’, but only ‘making fun of actors who exaggerate the process’.
What Jim Sarbh had said; how Nawazuddin Siddiqui reacted
Ranveer had previously mentioned that he found playing Khilji’s character in Padmaavat very dark. He had revealed that he would lock himself up in his Goregaon house, where he was completely isolated, to prepare for the role.
In an interview with The Quint, Jim said, “There are all those actors who are like, you know, I was so stuck in my character that I had to get mental therapy for weeks after. I was like, shut up bro. You didn’t even know your lines on the day, what nonsense.” Many believed it to be a dig at Ranveer.
Prashant Narayanan in an interview with Siddharth Kannan had recently undermined Ranveer’s process and said, “Woh jhoot bol raha hai. Yeh dark spaces mein jana, yeh sab karna yeh bakwas ki baatein hai. (He’s lying. All this talk of sitting in dark spaces is useless.)”
During an interview with Shubhankar Mishra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui defended Ranveer, saying, “The people who are calling it fake, did they bother to understand the actor’s process? Did they bother to understand how he was living his life when he was creating the character? They are simply judging him. We don’t know what a man is thinking when he’s coming up with a characterisation.”
Upcoming work
Jim will soon debut in Tollywood with Sekhar Kammula’s Kubera. The film stars Dhanush, Rashmika Mandanna and Nagarjuna in lead roles.