Actor-director Anshuman Jha, known for Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), has never been one to follow the conventional route. Jha reflects on the choices that have shaped his journey so far.
His father died in 2020, and the last message he sent Jha was about a film he wanted him to watch. Because jha’s late mother had encouraged him to work with the veteran actor, having Raghubir Yadav play his father made the experience even more meaningful, particularly. That understanding of parenthood has also made his upcoming film Om Ka Hari, a father-son drama comedy co-starring Raghubir Yadav, particularly personal. “There must be so many men and women who have had a relationship with their dad, but never got a chance to say, ‘I love you’ to them. This film is very special on that regard for me. His curiosity extends beyond acting. “I’m a great assistant director. I love being on a film set. I have zero ego. I would love to be her assistant and learn from her.”
Jha says he did not spend much time with his father, who travelled frequently, but they shared a close and open relationship. “He saw a movie called Lucy, and he knew I love action movies, so his last message to me is ‘Watch Lucy.’” When the script of Om Ka Hari came to him in 2022, that emotional connection immediately drew him in. Jha says he would happily return to being an assistant director to learn from filmmakers he admires.
Like if tomorrow Zoya Akhtar allows me to be her assistant, I will go and assist her.
For Anshuman, acting was never a fallback. Even when his mother wanted him to pursue a conventional career and become an IAS officer, he was certain about choosing the stage and screen. “I wanted to become an actor. My mother wanted me to become an IAS officer, and she was right, I would have, but I wanted to pursue acting,” he recalls. His decision was not always easy. “Luckily, I made the second list at Xavier’s, and then I got the licence to move to Bombay. And then the rest, as they say, is history.”
Asked to take science in Class 11, Jha deliberately left his first unit-test papers blank.
“My principal actually called my mother and said, ‘Why aren’t you letting him just do arts?’” Eventually, he got into St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, after initially missing the first list.
