Javed Jaferi He has long been admired for his versatility as an actor, dancer and performer, but unlike many of his contemporaries, he never cracked the ranks of Bollywood’s A-list stars. Looking back on his career, the actor believes the reasons have less to do with talent and more to do with the industry ecosystem, admitting that he neither plays the PR game nor aligns himself with influential groups.Javed was asked why he never achieved A-list star status in the 1990s, despite his immense popularity. He responded candidly in an interview with Screen, “I think it depends on how you package it. There’s also PR involved because the industry has its own network. Sometimes you have negative things happen to you, so you need a reality check or understand the positives of you being eliminated.”Reflecting on his choice, he added: “In some ways, I didn’t make it. I wasn’t part of any group either. Besides, if you’re a hit, no one can argue with you. Nothing speaks louder than success. Like what happened in Salman Khan. He appeared with Biwi Ho Toh Aisi (1988), but people dismissed him. “Javed cited Salman Khan’s career as an example of how a blockbuster movie can revolutionize an actor’s position in the industry. “Then ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ (1989) came out and then everyone was chasing him. It’s the same Salman Khan! What he’s doing is not that different from what he did in ‘Biwi Ho Toh Aisi’. But it’s just success. And then, of course, you grow with it. From that point of view, it never hit me that hard,” he explains.When thinking about his first film, Subhash GayWith the commercial success of his song “Meri Jung” (1985) and his song “Bol Baby Bol” becoming extremely popular, Jaaved noted that his introduction to audiences shaped the industry’s perception of him. “I was cast as the villain! Subhash Ghai sahab was the most successful director of his time. NN Sippy sahab was one of the top producers of his time.”He went on to explain that filmmakers continue to view him through this lens. “So, everyone thinks that if they see me as a villain, they should see me as a guy going forward. That judgment has passed. To counter that, someone has to make a funny musical movie, like they probably did Prabhu Deva in the south. But they didn’t, and I didn’t promote myself. But to be honest, I didn’t think too much about it,” he concluded.On the work front, Jaaved Jaaferi will not be reprising his role as Manav in Dhamaal 4. The comedy is directed by Indra Kumar and stars Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh and Arshad Warsi. The film will be released in theaters around the world on July 10, 2026.