Jagjeet Sandhu, who will be seen in the Punjabi film Chor Dil, believes while an actor is born, training is required to hone the craft

Mona

In a world full of kalesh, it’s only art that can offer peace…Believes actor-filmmaker Jagjeet Sandhu. The Punjabi boy, who got recognition with Paatal Lok, is rather choosy about his projects. In his bid to do something different, Jagjeet, who has Oye Bhole Oye, Rupinder Gandhi and Dakuaan Da Munda to his credit, continues to be associated with his first love — theatre, his forever learning ground. Playing the lead in Chor Dil, which sees a big screen outing this Friday, Jagjeet, pretty pumped to play the titular character, talks about the film on late Monday evening. “It’s a very different concept — a man gets a heart transplant and turns to theft soon after.”

If the concept of the film is different, so are Jagjeet’s looks — a clean shaven one! All the attention turns him diffident, “Changing looks is my profession’s demand and I quite enjoy it. But without the beard I am feeling a little shy.”

A pass-out from the Department of Theatre, Panjab University, Jagjeet believes while an actor is born, training is required to hone the craft, “No film is shot in a linear manner. To be spontaneous in each frame despite having rehearsed the scene a hundred times is what training prepares one for.” Paatal Lok’s stint got Jagjeet hordes of offers. “Lots of big production houses reached out with roles, but I pick up a project only if the role excites me. Most of them were on the same lines and I didn’t want to get typecast, so I let many roles go.”

While entertainment from Punjabi film industry is always going to be its mainstay, Jagjeet looks for films that also convey a relevant message. “We Punjabis are outgoing by nature, so our films cannot move away from entertainment. But art can do wonders where everything else fails. Since I am blessed to have this platform, I want to say stories that can go a step beyond entertainment, clearing the ground for what can benefit society.”

Amongst his projects he holds Jaswant Singh Khalra biopic as one of his most significant projects to date. As the film awaits censor clearance, Jagjeet shares, “This one film made me change my wedding date.” As and when the film meets its audience, Jagjeet says, “It’s going to the best film of the year if it gets released.”

Along with acting, Jagjeet is also into production. Realising early that he needed to get into filmmaking if he wanted cinema of his kind to see the light of the day, he launched his production house. “Our production Oye Bhole Oye wasn’t a grand affair but people have good things to say about it.” He is working on his next feature with the same team. On Punjabi industry taking strides, Jagjeet says, “All that talk about touching South Indian cinema levels is wishful thinking. With an average budget of Rs 5 crore, we can’t compete with their Rs 500 crore budgets for a film. But we sure can make sensible cinema.”

Meet the team

Chor Dil is also the debut venture of director-writer Jangvir Singh. A law-aspirant-turned filmmaker, he holds to his credit short film Nani Maa. Anxious about the Friday release, he opens up, “It’s like I am waiting for my board results.” Jangvir approached Jagjeet with another script to begin with. The latter summarily rejected it, saying he was not interested in a wedding movie since it was there in every other Punjabi film. “My production house thought of approaching other actors, but I saw logic in Jagjeet’s call.” Another script later, Chor Dil sealed the deal.

Shot in the UK, the film stars Fida Gill, Daman Sandhu and Gurchet Chitarkar. Fida, who makes her Punjabi film debut with Chor Dil, shares, “Working on my first with such a talented team is a perfect launch for me.” Fida holds an engineering degree but has dreamt of being an actor always. With the movie Full Moon and couple of web series to her credit, it’s in the entertainment industry that she sees her future. “I did engineering to appease my parents, now that they support my dreams I feel I am in the right space.”

(Chor Dil releases on October 25)