Mollywood has had its fair share of actors doing Sardar roles. Most often it is the Malayali actors themselves who tie the turban and sport thick beards and intimidating moustaches. But the upcoming Kammara Sambhavam written by
Murali Gopy and directed by Rathish Ambat will have a true blue Sardar playing a strong supporting role. Simarjeet Nagra, a Punjabi Sardar, will be debuting in Malayalam through this film which has Dileep in the lead role. Like countless other young men, Simarjeet nursed a deep passion for films and unlike many others, this civil engineer and MBA in Construction Management left a secure job to move to Mumbai and follow his dreams. He started off by modeling and it was his picture in a hoarding that caught the eye of the director. Simarjeet explains, “The makers liked my look and I was called for a meeting. Luckily for me, I was shooting in Kerala for a Hindi film Chef starring Saif Ali Khan. I went for a screen test and the director liked my look and cast me.”
Simarjeet will be playing three different roles in this film and though he cannot reveal much on his role, he lets on. “I have three looks starting from the 1940’s to the present.” Malayalam is admittedly not an easy language to get the hang of especially for someone from the North. Here again Simarjeet was lucky: “I play a character who speaks Hindi and Punjabi so there was no language barrier and I have also dubbed for my character,” he reveals. He is all praise for the working atmosphere in Mollywood. “All the people were friendly and I received a lot of respect and even cherish some comments. Part of that respect is because a large number of Sikhs serve in the Army.
I am also so blessed to have such a strong character written for a debutant like me when I never even hoped to work in the south.”
The fair and handsome Sikh actor has only good words to say about his co-actors. He says, “Both Dileep and Sidhharth are so humble and down to earth. I was shooting with them for 25 days and we developed a good bond. They guided and helped me with my dialogues and acting realising that I am a newcomer.” He has good memories of the time spent in Kerala and is open to acting in more Malayalam films. “Cinema has no barriers, it is all about acting.” He is awaiting the release of the film Chef where he plays the role of a newly wed.
