Jackie Shroff: Journeying into Jackie's Mind

By Fuad Omar.

Jackie Shroff is a man who cannot be kept down. I met him last year when he came here for the International Indian Film Awards.  Then briefly again when he came for the promotion of Mission Kashmir. The impression I get is that he likes London, and he's always been the same every time I see him, full of warmth and those glazed eyes that say "Hi". The next time we met was on the sets of Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai at Mukesh Mills which is in Mumbai for a night shoot which also celebrated his birthday last year, which was wild to say the least.

I speak to Jackie wanting to ask about what his favourite personal memories are, given that firstly he's been in the industry for so long and secondly because he is someone most of today's generation have grown up watching him in Hero, Karma, Kaash or Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak or 1942 A Love Story. I realise how the theme I wish to explore ties in with his last film and so use that to also ask what it is about Yaadein that attracted him to the project, although I could predict his answer given the person he is, immediately. What you see in Yaadein is not too different from the Jackie of real life. He's cool, calm and collected and has a loving wife and two adoring children. When watching Yaadein I could almost picture some scenes of Jackie with his daughters being not too different from his real life family as in both he is a doting family man.

I steal a few moments with Jaggu Dada, and ask how the whole media blitzkrieg feels for him given that firstly Yaadein was hyped and secondly that he was given prominent attention given his pivotal role in the movie. Dressed in a black suit and cowboy boots, the suave and sophisticated Shroff looks me in the eye and says:
"I feel very happy bhiddu," he says patting me on the shoulder with a look that says he's relieved knowing that this is a relaxed interview and not one full of formal questions or dissections of Yaadein.

I ask him what attracted him to Yaadein and he draws his fingers over his thinly trimmed moustache, before nodding his head and saying:
"I really like Subhash Ghai as a director, as a person and brother, and there's no way I can say no to him, he's been there since the beginning of my career. And the other thing is that the role was very strong and had a unique selling point of being a character that would allow me to show the father daughter relationship. I have three daughters in the film and it deals with how difficult it gets for a father to look after them, to talk with them about their boyfriends and relationships, and how they wouldn't talk to him about these things out of fear that he would dictate to them. But through the film and this role I'm trying to show and encourage that a family should live like friends."

I draw the real life comparison and ask Jackie if as on screen he plays more the friend to his daughter Isha than father, if it is true off screen too with his own two children.
"In real life too, I'm more like a friend to my daughter Krishna and (son) Tiger too, they're like my buddies. They tell me everything that goes on in their life," he says smiling.

"I kept my own daughter as the centre point of inspiration throughout the making of this movie because I know she's going to grow up very fast and I know that she'll have a lot of boyfriends after her! And I want her to be my pal and talk to me about these things, about her feelings and what she goes through. I feel a child should be able to take their parents as their best friends."

Anyone who's seen or met Jackie's children tends to have the incurable illness of never being able to stop talking about them. His son Tiger has the same smile as his father and that deep sensitive look in his eyes, and Krishna is as beautiful as her mum, and eyes that show the purity of her soul, lost in innocence and happy with the world she's in, this she reflects in her ever-bright smile.

We move on and I ask about a story sitting he had a few days ago, and he laughs as his eyes widen, saying "Sandhya! How do you know all this? Sangeeth Sivan is the director, Santosh Sivan's younger brother, it'll have Raveena and myself, maybe Chandrachur Singh and one more couple. It's about a killer who goes to kill somebody and how he's hunted, that's all I can say, but it sounds amazing."

I ask him to mention a few of his most memorable films to which he replies "my own films or just any films" and I ask him about his own, based on his experiences in these films.
"Ab khud ka kya pick karoo!" he exclaims before I edge him to give me an answer.
"Bahut saari picture hai. pehli successful picture Hero thi, second successful as an actor was Kaash, when people took notice and said he can act also! And then Parinda that gave me the first award and gave me the chance to work with Vinod Chopra and Nana Patekar. Aar Ya Paar where I got to play the bad guy for the first time, so these are some of my cherished memories but there are so many good memories and good films I don't want to pick just one. Also I must mention Dev Anand's Guide which is my most favourite film and I can watch that anytime."

Journeying through the Shroff's mind is a trip in itself because his eyes give you the answer before he does. As he remembers old films you can see part of the smile and the reminiscence and seeing him so relaxed makes this feel less like an interview and more like a friendly chat. I move away from the movies and ask his most cherished memory, and he shifts slightly in his seat and looks at me for a second before responding, his eyes glazed deep in thought. Then with a slight smile and thinking back he replies:

"Seeing my little boy in the incubator when he was born and when he was taken into where all the little kids are kept. All the other kids were crying away but he was lying there and he just turned his head and he had a smile on his face. And I just knew this was one kid who would be happy (touchwood). That little innocent boy with his little face and cute smile, who didn't know what kind of world he was getting into, he just looked.amazing."

Jackie looks at me but is lost in thought. He's missing his family but has just given one example of how anything can trigger a memorable moment or memory, which is exactly what his new film is all about. The doting dad, the loving husband, as I eye the time and begin to wrap up my rap-session with the star I wonder if he realises one of the reasons he feels so close to this role is probably because it lets him be who he is: a real family man.

Jackie is currently in Bangalore shooting until the early hours of the morning for the psychological thriller that is Sandhya. His latest release Lajja is doing well at the box office and can be seen at cinemas nationwide.