Veteran Punjabi actor, B.N. Sharma, was instrumental in his role as Inspector Sikander Singh Tiwana in 2012-blockbuster, ‘Carry On Jatta’. It was another of those awe-inspiring roles in his plethora of successful projects in the Punjabi language. Who would have known that before playing the reel life inspector in 2012, Sharma had worked in the Punjab police for over two decades!
Sharma was born in Takhatgarh village in Anandpur Sahib, district Rupnagar, Punjab. His family shifted to New Delhi, where he received his education. He remembers receiving a glass of pittal (brass) in fourth class as a gift for his role in the play ‘Love Kush’. He considers it to be his motivation, something which enhanced his interest in art, theatre and eventually movies.
Belonging from a rigid Brahmin family, Sharma’s father was against his passion of acting in dramas. Instead, he wanted his son to be an engineer. Having studied subjects of Physics, Chemistry and Maths during his childhood, Sharma pursued B.Sc. from Dyal Singh College in New Delhi. There was no end to the friction between the father-son, which forced Sharma to leave his house.
It was at this time that he came to Chandigarh to stay with his maternal uncle. His science background earned him a job as a wireless operator in Punjab Police. But, he hadn’t left his house for a job in the police department. Higher goals and the determination to achieve them was still doing rounds in his mind. To pursue an evening course (in Punjab university) or, we can say, his dream of working in theatrical plays, he got himself transferred into another department.
Nice things take time, but, at times, they require a substantial amount of breach of the peace too. Sharma had put in extra efforts to strike a neat balance between his job and his passion. His theatrical plays made him worthy of Hindi TV serials. Since those serials were aired on Doordarshan, his prominence increased, which resulted in him taking possession of roles in Punjabi movies. Whilst he was in the police department, he completed close to 40 Punjabi movies before opting for voluntary retirement.
His role as Billu Bakra in 1999-super hit movie, ‘Mahaul Theek Hai’, will definitely go down as his signature role, something which he will always be remembered for. His career graph further went up when he signed projects like ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’ (2001) and ‘Ab Tumhare hawale Watan Sathiyo’ (2004). In the recent times, he has displayed his sublime talent as P.K. Palta in ‘Jihne Mera Dil Luteya’, Shampy’s (Rana Ranbir) father in ‘Jatt & Juliet’ series, Dhindsa uncle in ‘Singh vs Kaur’ and Subedar in ‘Ardaas’.
From acting as a hardcore malefactor to a hilarious farceur in his prolonged career, Sharma has donned almost each and every role as a ne plus ultra. He had a penchant for acting, which forced work him to work odd hours in order to achieve his dream. He is an epitome for people who fail to find a balance between what they do and what they want to do. He is an epitome of the fact that if one keeps working hard and fair, no dream is too big to achieve.
