Despite having a number of hits in his kittie, Sharman Joshi is still waiting for his turn to prove himself as a serious actor. The actor speaks to Sreya Basu in Kolkata..

'3 Idiots' is a hardcore Aamir Khan film. Despite that you have been able to grab your share of audience appreciation. Feels good?
Definitely it feels good that audience is appreciating my character Raju Rastogi so much. And also I would like to mention that '3 Idiots' is not a 'hardcore' Aamir Khan film. It is about three people-Aamir, Madhavan and me...the story revolves round all three of us...that is clearly stated in the title.

After quite some time we saw you in a serious role...
Yeah...but I do have my bits of comedy in the film.

Yes. But with films like 'Golmaal' and 'Dhol' we were used to seeing you more in comedy than serious ones.
True. Now-a-days people categorize an actor on the basis of his last couple of releases. But if you remember I have also done films like 'Godmother', 'Rang De Basanti', and 'Life in a Metro'. And now with '3 Idiots', again I have proved that I can go beyond comic roles.

You are one of those few actors who can put comedy and serious acting together into a character; like in 'Rang De Basanti', 'Sorry Bhai' and now '3 Idiots'...
Thanks...but then that's what an actor is all about...he must be able to portray what his character demands of him in the film.

Still, you are one of the underrated actors of Bollywood. Do you agree?
I won't comment on that. But I would like to say that success is not easy to achieve in Bollywood. There are no shortcuts to success. I know words like 'hard work', 'sincerity', 'determination' bores people. But if you can actually practice that in life, you get what you want. I don't know how good I myself am at this, but I am really working hard and waiting for my turn.

What are your next releases?
There's Ramesh Taurani's 'Toh Baat Pakki' with Tabu and Vatsal Sheth. And 'Allah Ke Banday' with Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni and Anjana Sukhani.