‘I Remain A Chawl Boy Till Today’

‘I
stood
in
the
line
for
potty.
So
there
was
no
extraordinary
feeling
that
I
had
become
a
hero.’

Jackie
Shroff
became
an
overnight
star
after
playing
the
lead
in
Subhash
Ghai’s

Hero,
and
he
acknowledges
his
mentor,
saying,
“Subhash
Ghai
Made
Me.”

They
went
on
to
make
more
films
like

Karma,
Ram
Lakhan,
Khal
Nayak
and

Yaadein.

Jackie,
who
turned
68
on
February
1,
looks
back
at
his
career
and
his
unique
bond
with
Ghai.

“He
was
the
gentleman
who
gave

kanyadaan
at
my
marriage.
He
played
the
part
of
Ayesha’s
father
and
performed
the
rites
of
our
marriage,”
Jackie
tells

Dinesh
Raheja.

Hero
made
you
a
major
star.
Did
success
change
you
at
that
young
age?

I
don’t
think
success
changed
me.

I
was
the
same,
doing
what
I
used
to
do
before
I
got
into
films.
I
continued
staying
in
my
chawl
for
three-four
years.

I
stood
in
the
line
for
potty.
So
there
was
no
extraordinary
feeling
that
I
had
become
a
hero.

For
me,
it
felt
like
I
was
a
chawl
boy;
I
remain
a
chawl
boy
till
today.

In
the
early
days,
did
Subhash
guide
you
on
which
films
to
sign?

He
would
tell
me:
‘You
should
sign
Yash
Choprasaab‘s
film’;
‘You
should
work
with
the
big
banners’,
and
‘You
shouldn’t
accept
any
role
which
will
undermine
your
capabilities.’

Did
Ghai
advise
you
on
whether
it
was
the
right
time
for
a
young
hero
like
you
then
to
marry
your
girlfriend,
Ayesha
Dutt?

He
was
the
gentleman
who
gave

kanyadaan
at
my
marriage.
He
played
the
part
of
Ayesha’s
father
and
performed
the
rites
of
our
marriage.

Did
you
feel
a
slight
twinge
of
envy
when
Subhash
worked
with
others
like
Anil
Kapoor?

You
need
to
be
such
a
petty-hearted
guy
to
do
these
things.

You
think
I
am?
You
think
I
would
sit
and
brood
and
feel
bad
about
it?
Not
at
all.

What
I
got
was
more
than
enough,
couldn’t
have
asked
for
more.

You
were
considered
an
action
hero
then
but
you
got
a
lot
of
appreciation
for
your
performance
in
Ghai’s

Ram
Lakhan
(1989).
Any
scene
which
you
particularly
liked?

The
scene
I
thought
which
was
particularly
beautiful
was
the
one
when
my
brother
comes
to
take
the

mandir
of
the
house,
and
we
have
a
little
conflict
there.

In
the
same
year,
1989,
you
won
the
Filmfare
Best
Actor
award
for
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra’s

Parinda.
What
was
the
reaction
of
Ghai
and
other
people
around
you?

I
had
no
idea
what
hit
me.
I
had
my
newborn
child
in
my
hands,
and
I
wasn’t
expecting
any
award.

It
just
happened
to
me.

Everybody
was
really
happy
for
me.
But
it
hasn’t
registered
till
now
that
I
have
received
the
Best
Actor
award
in

Parinda.

When
you
did

Khal
Nayak
with
Sanjay
Dutt,
did
you
ever
discuss
with
him
about
how
he
was
originally
supposed
to
do

Hero
but
you
ended
up
doing
the
film?

No,
never.
I
didn’t
speak
about
it.
It
seems
it
was
to
be
done
with
many
other
actors.
I
don’t
know
how
I
got
it.

In

Ram
Lakhan
and

Khal
Nayak,
Subhash
repeatedly
cast
you
as
the
principled
Good
Guy
while
another
hero
played
the
grey
role.
What
is
the
reaction
when
you
play
the
main
villain
today
in
2024’s

Singham
Again
and

Baby
John?

Well,
I
started
with
negative
roles.
In

Swami
Dada
(1982),
I
was
the
henchmen
to
Shakti
Kapoorsaab.
In

Hero
also,
in
the
first
half,
I’m
not
a
good
guy.

I
kidnap
the
police
commissioner’s
daughter
and
take
her
to
the
jungle
so
that
my
boss
can
be
released
from
jail
in
exchange
for
her.

I
mean,
you
kidnap
the
commissioner’s
daughter,
you’re
not
a
hero.
Yes,
he
changes
because
of
love,
that’s
a
different
story
later.
But
the
character
was
initially
a
bad
guy.

Almost
two
decades
after

Hero,
Ghai
was
the
first
to
cast
you
in
a
central
albeit
older
role
in

Yaadein
(2001)
as
Kareena
Kapoor’s
father.
Did
you
have
any
hesitation
about
accepting
the
role?

It
was
just
what
he
said.
I
did
it
and
I
love
the
role.

I
think
it
was
the
most
beautiful
role
of
a
father
with
three
daughters,
and
how
he
gets
them
married,
how
it
breaks
your
heart,
but
you’re
supposed
to
feel
happy
also.
I
think
it
was
a
lovely
emotion.

Was
it
an
emotional
experience
to
play
a
father?

I
mean,
I’ve
not
seen
my
daughter
get
married,
can’t
even
think
about
it,
but
in
the
film,
I
think
I
did
a
good
job
of
getting
the
emotion
right.