Exclusive: Jaaved Jafferi on son Meezan Jaaferi's film career, says 'he has made his own way like me, my dad had not done anything'

Jaaved Jaaferi who is currently on a promotional spree for his Disney + Hotstar show Escaype Live, spoke to Desimartini about his son and actor Meezan Jaaferi’s Bollywood career in a candid chat. Meezan has garnered appreciation for his performances in his debut film Malaal (2019) and then in the 2021 comedy film, Hungama 2. The veteran actor credited his son for making his own path in the film industry just like him despite his father, the legendary actor-comedian Jagdeep being a celebrated name in the industry.

Jaaved Jaaferi said, “He (Meezan Jafferi) has made his own way and just like me, destiny also made his way. For me, my father (late legendary actor and comedian Jagdeep) did not do anything but destiny made its own way for me and that was exactly what happened in the case of Meezan. I didn't go but was called instead after someone sent my video to Mr. Ghai (Subhash Ghai)'s office the same way, Meezan was approached by Mr. Bhansali ( Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Malaal). He's a hard-working and honest boy, he has got good potential and personality. So he's got a potential like a star actor because a star may not necessarily be a very good actor but may have a striking personality. Similarly, a good actor may not be a star, but if you combine them both, you get a star actor like Mr. Amitabh Bachchan , Dilip Kumar, and Shah Rukh Khan . I think Meezan has got that potential and he's making his path on his own. He's not had any huge Godfather as Mr. Bhansali launched him as a producer in Malaal, not a director. It was not a big film but a good one and Meezan did a good job in it. Now he has some good films lined up.”

Furthermore, elaborating on his filmography, Jaaved Jaaferi said that he is fortunate to have done some memorable work out of the brief number of projects that he had got. The Dhamaal actor said, “You know sometimes it’s also destiny when good work comes to you and you cannot select as such. You can only select when good work comes to you but I've rejected half of what I've got. I've got decent stuff but not too much also, enough to keep me going. Because I haven't done too much work, probably 80-90 films and on TV, it was only Boogie Woogie and Takeshi's Castle where it was only my sound. My stint at Channel V also had a niche audience and maybe that has also been an advantage Ki Zyada Nahi Kiya Lekin Acha Kiya. So if you look at the quality as an actor, if I've done 100%, 60-70% of them has been good work.”

Also Read: Exclusive: Jaaved Jaaferi heaps praises on Escaype Live co-stars Siddharth and Waluscha D'souza