Jimmy Sheirgill on 'Collar Bomb': Asha Negi had internalised the character

With producers and artistes adapting to the new normal in times of the Covid19 pandemic shooting in a bio bubble during the lockdown has become a unique experience for the stars One such star is Jimmy Sheirgill who recently shot for his digital film Collar Bomb The actor in an exclusive interview with midday talks about how it was shooting with a team at various locations during the pandemic He also shared his experience playing the character of Manoj Hesi with utmost zest and what it was like to play the role of a father to a teenage girlHere are the excerpts from the interviewWhat attracted you the most to this project What made you give Collar Bomb a green signal I think for me it was the story It was very interesting because when I started reading the first few pages I thought its just another run of the mill just like the title suggests a kind of hostage situation On one hand some terrorists are taking control of the situation with the police trying to eliminate them However postreading 34 pages I realised that the story took a complete Uturn And that is what got me excited and I said Wow this is different This is something new And finally I read the entire script and was enamoured with the character of Manoj Hesi I loved the story and its intricacies and thatrsquos why I agreed to be a part of Collar BombWe have seen you playing various characters what different can we expect from Collar BombCollar Bomb is a really special project for me as its a highly captivating thriller series about an unimaginable hostage situation While I have portrayed the role of a police officer before the role of SHO Manoj is much more intense complex and dark and that allows me to play around with a range of complex emotions The movie has multiple unexpected plot twists and shocking revelations that one wouldrsquove never seen in any other whodunnit The story will definitely keep viewers hooked and is a mustwatch for all those love thrillersAlso Read Jimmy Sheirgill Dont miss playing the romantic heroWe have seen you playing a cop in multiple films how different is this oneThe attempt is to try and make it a little different from before Irsquove done cop roles earlier but this is a thriller and therersquos not much scope to add scenes to the character Here I am a cop with a backstory who is also the father of a 13yearold Therersquos a fair bit of grey It is a race against time but there is also a story unfolding simultaneouslyHow were Asha Negi and other costars on the setAsha came well prepared for the shoot and had internalised the character There was hardly ever a moment when Asha was not in her character of ASI Sumitra Joshi Sparsh on the other hand was full of energy and came with a singleminded focus of dwelling deep into his character and thereby do justice to the character It was great shooting with the young team of Yoodlee who always incorporated our suggestions and helped us pull off a safe and smooth shoot amidst the pandemicOn the other hand among many challenges of shooting amidst the pandemic Siddharth Anand Kumar VicePresident Films and Events Saregama also shared his experience with midday how difficult it was to conquer time management while adhering to Covid protocols on sets of the filmAs a producer what difficulties did you face while shooting during the pandemicDue to the strict travel restrictions it was difficult for us to scout for locations It was also an uphill task to obtain the necessary permissions to shoot Since the film is set in a school it was tough to find the ideal school which fit the script specifications and even harder to convince the school authorities along with the parents to allow us to shoot in the school with the kids for obvious reasonsHowever when we briefed them about the safety protocols which would be enforced while shooting along with the promise of ensuring a skeletal crew presence we were thankfully allowed to shootAlso Read Jimmy Shergill Societys loss if bright student becomes gangsterWhat made you take up the project during such a high risk of peoples lives What precautions were taken as a producerIts important to first point out that we wouldnrsquot have taken up this project or any project if we werenrsquot assured of the safety of the unit and fully following the guidelines laid by the government after restrictions were lifted The business has to go on because a lot of livelihoods depend on it So when we got a script that was so engaging and a willing team we got the project on the road We did a lot of groundwork to ensure everyones safety We employed trained Covid officers on the sets to monitor safety protocols with the help of masks PPE kits temperature checks daily screenings face shields and sanitization tunnels The entire cast and the crew were in a bio bubble throughout the entire duration of the shoot which ensured everyones safety and helped us pull off the shoot without any hiccupsFor the unversed the story revolves around a ticking time bomb in a quaint town and the personal history of police officer Manoj Hesi played by Jimmy Sheirgill The film was shot across different locations in Nainital Chail and Shimla and included crowd scenes extensive interaction between cast members and action sequencesThe film premiered on July 9 2021 exclusively for subscribers of Disney Hotstar VIP and Disney Hotstar Premium It stars Jimmy Sheirgill Asha Negi Rajshri Deshpande Sparsh Shrivastav among others