Social media has memefied actor Jimmy Sheirgill as the guy who never gets his lady love, thanks to his characters in Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002), Tanu Weds Manu and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (both 2011). Ask him if he’s aware of it, and he laughs and answers with a yes.

But then, doesn’t this mean that he got stuck in a stereotype? To this, the 51-year-old shares, “After Mohabbatein (2000), everything written about me was ‘chocolate boy’. It got me thinking: was this lover boy image going to get me any far? I felt I should better start doing roles like Haasil (2003), which I was shooting then, something interesting.”

However, with the resolve came self-doubt. “There were insecurities, as I was returning so many people’s signing amounts. People said, ‘You are having a great time right now, doing lead roles. Why are you venturing into Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), etc?’ My decision gave me sleepless nights,” admits the Your Honor actor.

Then, he took up projects that helped shatter his earlier image. “I did films like Yahaan (2005), A Wednesday (2008), Special 26 (2013). I was always trying to do things which didn’t end up typecasting me again,” he ends.