‘I hung on to every word he said’: Jim Sarbh on working with Naseeruddin Shah in Made in India: A Titan Story

For actor Jim Sarbh, being in the same frame as Naseeruddin Shah in Made in India: A Titan Story was akin to real-life being mirrored on screen. “I would hang on to every word he said to me while doing the scenes. That’s exactly what my character Xerxes Desai does when JRD Tata speaks to him,” says Sarbh who, for years, had harboured the wish to work with Shah. Sarbh plays Desai – the first managing director of Titan Company – to Shah’s Tata with panache in the much-appreciated series that chronicles the origin story of ‘Titan’, a joint venture with the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) in 1986.

While shooting, Sarbh was struck by Shah’s generosity and preparedness. “What is pleasurable is that he gives you so much and listens to you. He really sees you and what you’re doing,” recalls Sarbh and adds that Shah “doesn’t indulge in any kind of generic acting.” The veteran actor watches and responds to his co-actor, making the smallest moments memorable. “There’s a give and take,” says Sarbh. For instance, Shah would deliberately struggle to put on a coat, prompting Sarbh to instinctively help him. “Suddenly, you see him (as Tata) vulnerable and Xerxes wants to protect him. That becomes a moment,” elaborates the Made in Heaven actor.

But before he faced the camera as Desai, Sarbh had to consciously distance himself from another popular Parsi character — that of the flamboyant Homi Bhabha who he played in Rocket Boys (2022-23). “I envisioned Xerxes to be gentlemanly and be full of convictions and belief,” he says.

The journey of Made in India: A Titan Story, a six-part series currently streaming on Amazon MX Player, however, began much before the cameras rolled. Producer Sunil Bohra, Anand Jain, series development lead at Amazon MX Player, and screenwriter Karan Vyas had pitched the idea to Sarbh some years ago. “These three had an excitement and conviction for the show that was contagious. From the beat-sheet level, the script slowly developed. Later, Robbie Grewal came on board as the director. We had a grueling schedule with long hours, but it was fun to be with a happy group,” shares Sarbh, who has acted in movies such as Padmaavat (2018), Yeh Ballet (2020) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022).

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The show’s ensemble cast — Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Namita Dubey, Lakshvir Saran, Kaveri Seth and Joy Sengupta among others — is one of its strengths. Readings helped them understand the characters better. By his own admission, Grewal is a firm believer in readings, though not in a dramatic sense. “The actors bring alive the complexities and strengthen their understanding of the character during readings. They came with energy and were brimming with ideas. They were as invested in the show as we were,” says Grewal.

The show benefited from the actor-director collaboration during the making as Sarbh and Grewal would constantly jam and discuss scenes. When prosthetics was suggested for Sarbh’s appearance as Xerxes, the actor offered to go bald. Grewal shares: “Jim said he would shave off his hair. For his public appearance, Jim said he would wear a toupee or a wig.”

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Popular old Hindi film songs became a key element in building the nostalgia-soaked world of Titan. “We wanted to create the world visually and with sound. We wanted audiences to feel the world,” says Grewal, who has previously directed Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins (2025) and Bhay: The Gaurav Tiwari Story (2025). Many of these songs were already mentioned in the screenplay itself. The producers and the platform ensured that the team had the rights to use them in the series.

This year, Sarbh completes a decade since he made his acting debut as a terrorist in Neerja (2016). After spending his formative years in Australia and later graduating from Emory University in the US, he chose to build a career in India, driven by the desire to reconnect with his roots. After studying in the US, where he served as a literary intern under acclaimed theatre director Susan Booth at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, he realised he didn’t know India as well as he wanted to. Back in Mumbai, he devoted four years to theatre, acting in plays like Purva Naresh’s OK Tata Bye Bye, and directing Mark Bartlett’s play Bull, before Neerja.

Even though Sarbh has already played a few real-life characters, given a chance he would like to essay characters based on Jim Corbett, JRD Tata and Freddie Mercury. The latter remains particularly special. “I was beaten to Freddie Mercury,” he jokes, referring to the Queen singer’s biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. But he hasn’t given up on music. “I would love to play a singer. It’s really wonderful to be a musician. I would quit acting tomorrow if I can sing and join a band,” Sarbh says.