Jimmy Shergill

m Bikram College Patiala. Shergill was encouraged by his cousin to move to Mumbai who was instrumental and one of the main reasons why he became an actor , He tried his hand in cinema soon after arriving in Mumbai and went on to attend Roshan Taneja’s acting classes which laid the foundation for Shergill’s film career.

Entry into cinema (1996) Jimmy Shergill’s debut movie which was a directed by Gulzar , the movie was the perfect starting point for him as it went on to Fetch critical and commercial success. The political subtext of the movie made the character Veer played by Jimmy Shergill more challenging and the actor pulled it off in style. Jimmy Shergill followed up with the acclaimed Jahan Tum Le Chalo in 1999 after which he got his very first commercial stream recognition for Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein; The ensemble romantic drama starring in the same frame with the legends Amitabh Bachchan and ShahRukh Khan saw Shergill in a supporting role. The character of Karan portrayed by Jimmy , proved to be a blessing for him as he got recognition in the commercial circles in Bollywood after the previous serious outings. First Independent movie in the lead ( 2001 ) The year 2001 saw Shergill’s very first single hero film in the romantic movie Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar where he acted opposite Ameesha Patel, the movie turned out to be a huge flop at the box office and the film also failed to get positive reviews. Yash Raj films called on Shergill once again in 2002 for Uday Chopra’s Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai which only performed average business. After the uneventful Dil Hai Tumhaara, Jimmy Shergill got good reviews for Dil Vil Pyar Vyar where he co-starred with R Madhavan in a huge star cast film that had four love stories in the 2002 movie. Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar which released in the year 2002 saw Jimmy Shergill pairing with Kim Sharma which went on to be a low scorer. The year 2003 was very crucial for him as he came up with the crime drama Haasil co-star with Hrishita Bhatt and Irrfan Khan; the latter who got a Filmfare Award for best villain for that year. Haasil was declared a commercial and critical hit and has a cult following even today. Jimmy Shergill continued his golden patch with the acclaimed Munna Bhai M.B.B.S which too turned out to be quite a prestigious addition to his filmography even though he appeared in a supporting role as a dying cancer patient in the Sanjay Dutt starrer which was of his highly noted performance in the National Award winning film. His acting was much loved by the audience. Jimmy Shergill again went on to be part of a shelved project in V.Santaram’s Humsaya opposite Dino Morea and Shilpa Shetty in the same year. Largely inconsistent acting phase (2004 onwards ) 2004 was not the best of years for Shergill with an array of unsuccessful movies like Agnipankh, Charas only to have as sole consolation for a supporting character in the hit Hum Tum. 2005 had seen him working in Silsiilay and Yahaan which had been recognized by the critics but failed to be commercial successes due other big releases of the time. At this point the actor was much in need of a hit at the box office which he still had to wait for as his next releases Umar and Tom Dick and Harry, both of which too failed to garner him the long overdue independent hit which turned out to be major disappointments. Jimmy Shergill however got to be a part of the sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai which generated dream like reviews and also was ranked among the top grossers of 2006. The unsuccessful Bas Ek Pal which release later that year saw Shergill going on to deliver a standout performance which the critics found to be one of the saving graces of the film. In 2007 Jimmy Shergill appeared in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Ekalavya which too had something new for the actor in though was largely an extension of his supporting roles; but that too failed. Raqeeb, Delhi Heights and the ensemble drama Victoria No 203; incidentally touted to be a remake, the film bombed at the box office with critics marking the film as being a shot by shot copy of the yester year movie of the same name which was a superhit film of the year 1972. After appearing in the lead in Strangers, Chhodon Naa Yaar, Jimmy once again got a break for an important role in Neeraj Pandey’s Magnum Opus, in the film ‘A Wednesday’ which garnered tremendous critical response and is considered still to be milestone attempt featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher in the lead, Shergill went on to do a worthy supporting role after a break which was well noted in the film circles. Return after Two year break to Bollywood (2010) Jimmy Shergill took a small sabbatical from Bollywood after the film ‘ A Wednesday’ in 2008 to sign in for the main lead in two Punjabi films Tere Mera Ki Rishta and DDLJ fame cinematographer Manmohan Singh’s directorial Mundu U.K.De , the former was the costliest Punjabi film of all time then and also went on to be a commercial success with a good response, the latter dealing with the tale of a few UK based Punjabi boy returning to their home turf was a blockbuster outside India even though in the contrary generated negative reviews. Jimmy Shergill made a comeback in Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan with ShahRukh Khan in other critical hit ,but Punjabi cinema was turning out to be crucial for Shergill as his next release the same year Mel Karade Rabba was the highest grossing Punjabi film ever with strong reviews and also got Shergill the PTC Punjabi Film Awards for Best Actor in the year 2010; which incidentally made the actor a bankable independent hero in Punjabi cinema thereafter. After the unsuccessful thriller Flat and a cameo in the comedy Tanu Weds Manu Shergill rolled his very first Film Dharti; a Punjabi political thriller which too went on to be a memorable outing for the actor in him. Later in 2011 Jimmy Shergill re-invented himself with Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster which was widely acclaimed and got him many Awards and nominations in Best Actor in a Negative Role category. After a supporting role in Amitabh Bachchan’s unreleased Shoebite and the film Dangerous Ishq came Akshay Kumar’s Special 26, which presented a new nuance in Shergill’s career with a slight deviation to his comical side in parts too in an crucial role . Later in 2013 Jimmy Shergill reprised his lead role in the sequel of Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster which went on to repeat the lineage of the first instalment and also got Jimmy Shergill a much needed breather again getting nominated for many awards for his quirky interpretation of Aditya Prathap Singh. Shergill went on to produce his third movie in Punjabi Saadi Love Story with a bunch of young actors with him appearing in a special cameo and also starred in his own production’s fourth film with his long-time collaborator filmmaker Navaniat Singh in Rangeelay both of which performed poorly at the box office despite evoking mostly mixed reviews. Tigmanshu Dhulia cast Shergill once again, in the action film Bullet Raja where he played second fiddle to the star after which he committed to lead in the underperforming Fugly in 2014 saw the beginning for that year which he followed up with the sequel to his Punjabi romcom Aa Gaye Mundu U.K. De again turning out to be moderately successful. Thus Shergill was seen showcasing his calibre in parts in a mostly inconsistent career graph in Bollywood. The thriller Darr @ the Mall later in the same year fetched mostly good reviews for him, Shergill went on to do a key role in Tanu Weds Manu returns too, which was a far reaching blockbuster. He returned to Punjabi cinema with “Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi’ which too made a mark after which he did Shareek and Vaisakhi List both of which were his latest release in Punjabi cinema. Traffic too had a meaty role for Shergill after which came The Acclaimed children’s film Shortcut Safari, Happy Bhag Jayegi and Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gayaa and Madari was his latest Hindi releases. Dil Sala Sanki and Bandookan are his upcoming Hindi and Punjabi releases respectively in 2017.