For actor Saurabh Shukla, Jolly LLB (2013) is a special film as it brought him back to acting. Even after films like Bandit Queen (1994), Satya (1998) and others, Shukla wasn’t getting good roles and recalls going “through a phase” in the 2000s. “People would say I’m a good actor but wouldn’t give me meaty roles. And that’s why I’d decided to stick to writing and didn’t want to take up any roles,” he recalls.

However, Barfi (2012) and Jolly LLB changed the course of his career. He elaborates, “Subhash (Kapoor; director) shared the script of Jolly with me and offered the role of a judge. My face fell as I thought that the role wouldn’t be much. After the narration, however, I changed my mind as the script didn’t depict the judge as a cardboard character. I told him, ‘Koi aur nahin karega yeh role’. I had a great time shooting, people loved the film and my character, which got me a National Award!”

Looking back at winning the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, Shukla says, “It reaffirms your beliefs and choices. Performing a scene is an adrenaline rush that can’t be matched by anything else. Also, what I loved about the film is that it didn’t end on a low note.”