Sharib Hashmi On Success Of The Family Man: Was Craving For Recognition For Years'
As somebody who dreamt of becoming a quintessential "hero" as a child, The Family Man star Sharib Hashmi's journey in the film industry has been nothing short of a real-life success story, full of "ups and downs".
As
somebody
who
dreamt
of
becoming
a
quintessential
"hero" as
a
child,
The
Family
Man
star
Sharib
Hashmi's
journey
in
the
film
industry
has
been
nothing
short
of
a
real-life
success
story,
full
of
"ups
and
downs".
Hashmi
is
currently
enjoying
the
fruits
of
his
hard
work
with
the
overwhelming
response
towards
the
second
season
of
The
Family
Man.
The
45-year-old
actor,
who
plays
the
happy-go-lucky
intelligence
officer
JK
Talpade
on
the
Amazon
Prime
Video
series,
said
he
is
inundated
with
congratulatory
calls,
messages
from
the
audience,
as
well
as
industry
peers,
since
the
June
4
premiere
of
season
two.
“The
first
season
had
set
a
benchmark
for
itself
and
it
was
an
advantage
for
all
of
us.
Personally,
for
season
one
I
received
a
lot
of
love
but
this
time
the
reaction
has
been
crazy.
This
is
happening
for
the
first
time
in
my
career.
I
am
on
cloud
nine.
Things
are
out
of
control.
"I
didn’t
expect
it
to
surpass
my
expectations
and
I
am
feeling
very
emotional
about
it.
For
years
I
was
craving
for
recognition
and
I
am
glad
I
got
it
from
JK,”
Hashmi
told
PTI
in
an
interview.
But,
it
has
been
a
long
road
for
the
actor.
Born
in
Mumbai
to
eminent
film
journalist
ZA
Johar,
Hashmi
says
growing
up
he
attended
a
lot
of
Bollywood
parties
with
his
father
from
where
began
his
fascination
with
the
world
of
movies.
"In
my
childhood
I
would
often
say
'I
want
to
become
a
hero'.
I
didn't
understand
acting
and
all.
I
would
go
to
the
parties
and
'mahurat',
it
was
all
lavish
then.
I
was
fascinated
by
the
world
and
I
wanted
to
be
part
of
it," he
added.
His
desire
to
join
films
was
subdued
by
his
belief
that
he
was
not
tall
enough
to
become
a
hero,
but
his
love
for
entertainment
led
him
to
join
television
as
a
writer,
Hashmi
said.
"When
I
grew
up,
I
was
just
5'4
feet
and
felt
that
I
couldn’t
become
a
hero
so
I
thought
I
don't
want
to
become
anyone
else.
But
I
wanted
to
do
something
in
this
line
so
I
worked
as
an
assistant
director
and
started
writing
non-fiction
shows
for
MTV
and
Channel
V."
Hashmi's
initial
acting
gig
was
on
the
popular
prank
show
MTV
Bakra
and
he
followed
it
up
with
a
role
of
a
slum-dweller
in
filmmaker
Danny
Boyle's
Oscar-winning
movie
"Slumdog
Millionaire".
The
actor
said
he
decided
to
audition
for
the
India-set
Hollywood
feature
on
the
suggestion
of
his
friend.
"I
was
auditioned
for
the
role
by
Danny
Boyle
himself.
It
is
a
big
opportunity
for
me."
Along
with
Slumdog
Millionaire,
the
year
2008
also
marked
the
release
of
Hashmi's
Hindi
movie
Haal-E-Dil,
after
which
he
decided
to
pursue
acting
full
time.
He
quit
his
job
and
started
auditioning
actively,
but
nothing
worked
out.
"There
have
been
a
lot
of
ups
and
downs
in
my
career.
I
made
a
decision
about
taking
up
acting
and
faced
daily
rejections.
I
was
in
a
very
bad
state
financially
and
finished
all
my
savings."
The
financial
crunch
forced
Hashmi
to
return
as
a
writer
to
television,
but
soon
he
got
the
offer
to
work
in
Yash
Chopra's
2012
romance
drama
Jab
Tak
Hai
Jaan,
and
followed
it
up
with
a
lead
role
in
Nitin
Kakkar's
Filmistaan,
that
also
released
the
same
year.
Even
though
his
performance
was
appreciated
in
both
the
projects,
the
actor
didn't
get
the
recognition
he
craved
for
till
the
premiere
of
The
Family
Man
in
2019.
“When
the
offer
for
'The
Family
Man’
came
I
was
hoping
it
would
work
as
the
project
was
big.”
His
spontaneity
as
a
performer
and
his
chemistry
with
lead
star
of
the
series,
Manoj
Bajpayee,
attracted
the
audiences
and
soon
his
character,
JK
became
a
fan
favourite,
making
Hashmi
a
household
name.
The
season
one
of
the
espionage
action-thriller
series,
centred
on
Bajpayee's
Srikant
Tiwari,
as
he
juggled
between
his
the
duality
of
being
a
middle
class
family
man
and
a
world-class
spy,
with
JK
always
there
by
his
side.
In
the
latest
sophomore
season,
JK
continues
to
support
Srikant
as
they
fight
a
new,
powerful
and
brutal
adversary
named
Raaji,
essayed
by
South
star
Samantha
Akkineni.
Hashmi
believes
the
reason
for
JK's
immense
popularity
is
his
unconditional
love
for
his
best
friend
Srikant.
“Everyone
wants
a
best
friend
in
their
life
and
they
see
that
best
friend
in
JK.
I
feel
that’s
the
biggest
connection.
The
unconditional
love
between
JK
and
Srikant
is
something
people
are
loving,"
he
said,
adding
that
his
bonhomie
with
Bajpayee
keeps
growing
both
on
and
off
screen.
Post
the
success
of
the
first
season
of
The
Family
Man,
Hashmi
went
on
to
star
in
another
two
acclaimed
series
Asur
and
Scam
1992:
The
Harshad
Mehta
Story.
Hashmi
said
he
has
read
a
few
scripts,
but
is
in
no
hurry
to
sign
any
new
projects.
"I
don’t
want
to
put
myself
into
any
category
that
I
want
to
be
the
main
lead
or
play
the
most
important
role.
Length
of
the
role
doesn’t
matter,
what
I
look
at
it,
is
how
pivotal
it
is
to
the
story
and
who
is
the
team
on
board,"
he
said.
The
Family
Man
season
two
also
features
Priyamani,
Seema
Biswas,
Darshan
Kumar,
Sharad
Kelkar,
Sunny
Hinduja,
Shreya
Dhanwantary,
Shahab
Ali,
Vedant
Sinha,
Mahek
Thakur
and
Ravindra
Vijay
among
others.