Robbie Grewal has high praise for Naseeruddin Shah and Jim Sarbh. The reason? The actors leave little for the director to do on set. They come so well prepared that the filmmaker can sit back and let them interpret the story, get into character physically and mentally, and put their best foot forward. That is exactly what he did when he adapted Vinay Kamath’s book Titan: Inside India’s Most Successful Consumer Brand into a six-episode series, Made in India — A Titan Story. The series chronicles Titan’s journey from its establishment in 1984, when Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, insulted by a Swiss watch company, hired Xerxes Desai to create a new watch brand made entirely in India.
JRD Tata and Xerxes Desai
“It’s a compelling story and a part of history, so we wanted to make it,” says Grewal. “It is a story about JRD. Who is not enamoured by him or the journey of making a watch into a brand? The Tatas are a name to reckon with and we trust it. If you look closely, Naseer saab has an uncanny resemblance to JRD Tata. The physical similarity and the body language were a perfect fit. Luckily for us, he agreed when we approached him [for the role]. He loved the writing. Jim was a natural choice to play Xerxes Desai, who is the pivotal protagonist of the story,” explains the director. The series also stars Namita Dubey, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Kaveri Seth, Lakshvir Saran, and Paresh Ganatra in key roles.
Robbie Grewal
Grewal loves to observe Shah’s passion and dedication to his work rather than comment on it. He feels Sarbh is cut from the same cloth. Both actors, despite the age difference, exude a similar understanding of their characters. “Naseer saab takes his job so seriously and is so well prepared before the shot. Whether it is two or five pages, he comes on set as JRD Tata. Both Naseer saab and Jim are from theatre, and while every actor has a different method of acting, they are similar in terms of understanding their characters and being prepared for it. They ideate, understand, and develop their characters pre-shoot. The material to create magic happens before the shoot. They bring so much to the table,” shares the director.
What surprised him further was Sarbh’s decision to go bald to play Desai instead of relying on prosthetics. He shares, “They say actors are vain. Many would have worn a prosthetic scalp cap but Jim is a true actor. He insisted on going bald from day one. He told me that he wanted to be Xerxes Desai and to be him he had to be like him.”