Share a special bond with Manoj Bajapyee, fun to reunite with him: Sharib Hashmi on ‘Family Man' 3

Mumbai: Actor Sharib Hashmi says he shares a great bond with "The Family Man" co-star Manoj Bajpayee and was eagerly looking forward to reprise his role of JK Talpade in the show's upcoming season three.

Created and directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, the action thriller series features Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class guy trying to maintain a balance between his personal and professional life as a covert intelligence officer.

Hashmi plays Talpade, a close friend and colleague of Tiwari, in the show, which started with its critically-acclaimed first season in 2019 and followed by the sophomore chapter in 2021.

The filming for the upcoming third season of the Prime Video show began last month.

“I was very excited to begin work on the third season of ‘The Family Man’, and I’m very happy with the scenes that we’ve shot. I’m waiting for the next schedule to begin, I look forward to getting back to playing JK,” the 48-year-old actor told PTI in an interview.

Hashmi said reuniting with Bajpayee on “The Family Man” series is always “fun and special”.

“We both share a special bond, I’ve a great comfort level with him. When we become JK and Tiwari, we get into that groove and have that same banter, we pull each other’s legs. It didn’t seem that we didn’t shoot for this long,” he said.

The actor said that he never anticipated that their onscreen camaraderie will attract a huge fan-following.

“We did hope that people would like us but we didn’t know that our onscreen friendship would get so much love. Some people have written poems about that. It feels great that our hard work has paid off,” he added.

Hashmi, who has garnered critical acclaim for his work in “Filmistaan”, “Tarla”, “Fighter”, among others, said he believes in working with utmost honesty, whether he has one scene in a film or a full-fledged role.

“I never take my work for granted, I’ve confidence in myself. I’ve talent too but I’m not over confident that I can do everything on my own as an actor. I need support and guidance from the director, and that is important for me. I think a lot before saying yes to a film, whether I do one scene in ‘Fighter’ or a full-length role in ‘Tarla’,” the actor said.

Hashmi's upcoming movie is “Malhar”, set in rural Kutch and described as a heartwarming exploration of three intertwined tales of love, struggle, and resilience.

The anthology movie also features Anjali Patil of “Newton” fame, Rishi Saxena, Shrinivas Pokale, Vinayak Potdar, Mohammad Samad and Akshata Acharya, among others.

“There are three stories in this, there’s a story of two children who are friends, another is a teenage love story, and one is a story where I, Anjali and Rishi feature. I liked how the director weaved these three stories; besides I liked the character, the script and team,” Hashmi said.

“I’m not headlining the film. Rather I’ve a cameo but it doesn’t look like a small role. I’m hoping the audience will like the film, which touches upon some relevant topics,” he said.

“Malhar” is set to release in theatres on June 7. The film is directed by Vishal Kumbhar and produced by Praful Pasad under the banner of V Motion Pictures.