Sharib Hashmi was shocked to be paired opposite Nargis Fakhri – Beyond Bollywood

The acclaimed actor couldn’t believe his director and the reality only hit him when he met the American beauty on the sets.

By Mayur Lookhar

He is no star, but an actor who continues to gain respect by every film/series. Sharib Hashmi’s stocks have risen since The Family Man series. He has since gone on to play important roles in many a film – Mission Majnu [2023] and Vikram Vedha [2023] are some fine recent examples. He will soon be seen in filmmaker Ajayan Venugopalan’s Shiv Shastri Balboa [2023]. It’s a special film as Hashmi got to romance the ethereal beauty Nargis Fakhri.

For Hashmi, this was a surreal experience. He was simply stunned to be paired opposite Fakhri in a film.

“During the phone call, Ajayan [director] told me that we are talking to Nargis to be opposite you, I asked him, Nargis who? I couldn’t believe for long that it is Nargis Fakhri. I still didn’t believe when I met the director. It is only when she came on the sets, that is when it hit me,’ Hashmi said at the trailer launch.

Hashmi is playing a humble, quirky Punjabi character in the film. He’s called Cinnamon Singh. And in a first for the actor, he got to sport a blue shade to his hair.

“I was thrilled that for the first time, people would be working on my look. In fact, we tried various colours – brown, blonde green. Finally, we honed in on blue. I, too, felt that blue is looking good. A song Feeling Blue was playing in my mind,” said the smiling Hashmi.

Shiv Shastri Balboa [2023] is set to be released in theatres on 10 February.