He has served his country as an Army officer and was also a part of the Royal Bodyguard of Bhutan before switching to showbiz. Bhutanese artiste Sangay Tsheltrim, seen recently in Jawan, is basking in the success of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, directed by Atlee. “His way of functioning is different. And he is very intelligent,” he tells us, adding that more Bollywood projects are in the pipeline.

Tsheltrim had to juggle the shoots of Jawan in Chennai and the web series The Freelancer in Morocco. This, he says, was a big challenge. “But, I thoroughly enjoyed it!” he’s quick to add.

As someone who has served in the military, the actor got a chance to bring out that side of him in The Freelancer. Next, he hopes to do the biopic of an officer: “I would like to be a part of a commercial movie as a soldiers. There are a lot of soldiers from the Northeast who sacrificed their lives for the country. I can visualize myself doing such roles.”

In addition to acting, Tsheltrim is also a producer in Bhutan, where he aspires to create commercial movies that can create a benchmark for others. He says filmmakers there don’t make commercial films. “Regional films do well in OTT and film awards, but commercially, there is still a long way to go. There are certain filmmakers who make masala movies, while some make artistic and social message movies, but the audience prefers entertainers. So, the filmmakers have to decide, whether they want awards or the money. They cannot have both,” says the artiste.

His transition from the Army to representing Bhutan in the entertainment industry brought on mixed emotions. “It was a sad moment to remove my uniform and badges to shift to acting, as I was also serving our king in Bhutan. Now, I am representing my country in Bollywood and every part of the world. Even if I am in the field of acting, a soldier will always remain a soldier. Acting is my passion, but at the end of the day, I am a soldier and I will serve my country all my life in any way possible,” the 41-year-old wraps up.