Although 2024 was British actor Jason Shah’s year as he finally made his mark in Indian cinema, working across industries and formats — playing key roles in the Tamil actioner Mission: Chapter 1, the Hindi action thriller Jigra, starring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina, and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama streaming series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar — he unfortunately did not have a single release in 2025. However, Jason is all set to make a grand comeback, compensating for his year-long absence, by portraying an important role in director H Vinoth’s ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan. Marking Vijay’s final outing before his complete foray into politics, Jana Nayagan is among the most anticipated movies of the year, thus offering Jason a never-before opportunity to showcase his talents before a wider audience.
One of Jason Shah’s most-acclaimed works thus far is Heeramandi, and among the many aspects of the show that sparked discussions was the intimate same-sex scene featuring the characters played by Jason and Indresh Malik. Although nervous at first, Jason went ahead and shot the scene, since it was helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whom he was sure wouldn’t make it look cheap. The risk eventually paid off and became a hot topic after the show’s debut.
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In a recent interview, Jason maintained that a majority of actors in the country are insecure. “I think in India, at least from all the projects, from the time I was in TV to going through web series and being in films, I would say 90% of actors in India are insecure,” the actor observed during a conversation with News18. He added, “I wouldn’t blame it so much on the directors. I would also put a little bit of the responsibility on the actors. Like, are actors really coming into work? Or are they bringing their name to the set, ‘Oh, it’s this person on set,’ rather than, ‘This is the character that I want to do 100% justice to,’ which I see as a weak point.”
‘This generation is quite bloodthirsty,’ says Jason Shah
Jason also opened up about the current state of Indian cinema, which he feels is obsessed with on-screen violence now. He also observed that creators were copying each other these days, resulting in lack of diversity. “I definitely think a lot of things in India can be explored more, and I’m hoping that they do. I think everybody just starts copying everybody. Especially right now, it’s like a heavy, violent zone that has come into movies, and that’s been going on for quite some time. You saw it starting off in KGF and RRR, and now it’s in Animal and then Dhurandhar. I mean, it’s also speaking for this generation, which I can see is quite bloodthirsty. I’m part of it. It pays my bills,” he said.
Jason also commended Mohit Suri and other directors like him who, amid the industry’s obsession with actioners, are taking different routes and making distinctive movies. It may be recalled that Mohit’s musical romantic drama Saiyaara, starring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, had emerged as the third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025.
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Also starring Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Priyamani, and Narain in key roles, Jana Nayagan is scheduled to hit the screens on Friday, January 9.
