Jaaved Jaaferi recalls missing out on ‘Life in a… Metro’ and ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’: ‘If you’re a little more aggressive, probably things could have been different’ |
Jaaved Jaaferi has opened up about some of the biggest “what if” moments of his acting career, revealing that he was once in the running for memorable roles in ‘Life in a… Metro’ and ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’. The actor also shared that he had auditioned for ‘Parinda’, but fate had other plans. Despite the missed opportunities, Jaaferi says he has no regrets and believes everything unfolded as it was meant to.In a conversation with India Today, Jaaved reflected on the films he almost became a part of, admitting that a few missed opportunities still stay with him.“No, it’s not about having to let it go. I missed out on two films for whatever reason.” He went on to reveal that he was nearly cast in Anurag Basu’s ‘Life in a… Metro’, in the role that was eventually played by Irrfan Khan.“One was ‘Life in a Metro’ with Anurag Basu; Irrfan Khan’s role. Irrfan had to go do a film with Angelina Jolie somewhere, and then they came to me; everything was done, the dates were locked, and we were going ahead. But then Irrfan came back, so I lost out. That’s something I lost out on, and I kind of feel like, ‘Man, I wish I had got that.’ It was on the plate, but it just slipped away.”
Why Jaaved Jaaferi couldn’t become ‘Circuit’
Jaaved also disclosed that he was considered for the iconic role of Circuit in Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, a character that eventually became synonymous with Arshad Warsi.Recalling the incident, he said Vinod Chopra had suggested his name to Rajkumar Hirani during a chance meeting. “I remember meeting Vinod Chopra at the airport, and he called Raju Hirani. I didn’t know Raju then; I knew Vinod. He said, ‘Hey, why don’t we call Jaaved Jaaferi for Circuit’s role?’ But Raju didn’t know me very well then. My image, because of television, was that I was very westernised. Maybe he felt I wouldn’t fit into that ‘Bhai’ kind of character.“Looking back, the actor admitted he could have fought harder for the part.“I probably should have, because as an actor sometimes you have to go and pitch yourself and say, ‘Look, I can do this.’ I probably took it easy. I said, ‘Okay, he feels that way.’ But if you’re a little more aggressive, probably things could have been different.”
No bitterness over Arshad Warsi’s casting
Although the role eventually went to Arshad Warsi, Jaaved said he never harboured any resentment and accepted the outcome as destiny.“Of course, I spoke to Arshad about it. But as I said, it’s fate. That’s how it works. Nobody was cast at that point when Vinod approached him. I think it was not Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) they were playing with the idea of Shah Rukh then. That’s what I vaguely remember. And then, of course, it shifted the tonality of the film, and this is what happened.”
Jaaved Jafferi on having auditioning for an early version of ‘Parinda’
The actor also revealed that he had auditioned for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘Parinda’ when the project was still in its early stages.“In fact, I had also auditioned for Vinod Chopra’s ‘Parinda’. We’re talking about a time when it was supposed to be a much smaller film. They were thinking of Naseer Bhai as the elder brother and were looking for the younger brother. I auditioned on video with Shiv Subramaniam, who was one of the writers and actors, and gave my tape to them. Then, of course, the project became a different film with Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.“
Jaaved Jaaferi on looking back without regrets
Despite coming close to starring in several acclaimed films, Jaaved said he has accepted those missed chances and prefers to view them as part of his journey.“So yeah, these things… I remember them very clearly. At least these things. But you take it in your stride. That’s how it is.”Jaaved Jaaferi was recently seen in ‘Dhamaal 4’, sharing screen space with Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh and an ensemble cast.
