Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
KNOCKED OFF WOOD FOR a man who, claims that after 14 years in the line, it is sheer nervous energy that drives him on rather than passionate enthusiasm, Jackie Shroff has done well for himself. "From a wooden Hero, I have become an accepted actor today," he says, submitting his head to his make-up man for bandaging before shooting a hospital scene, on the sets of Dinesh Gandhi's Lawaris. And now there is the added high of the release of his first home production Grahan this Diwali by Jackie Shroff Entertainment Ltd. Under the banner of which he has already announced two more films Atma, a horror film directed by Shyam Ramsay and RajuRajararam a comedy by David Dhawan. Yet Jackie seems a trifle illat-ease with his new role of producer. "Ijust don't have the time to go into the script, the songs, the dates of artistes of my films as any normal producer," he complains. "I have to do most of my production work on the telephone. On the other hand, when I go for my other shootings, I invariably meet junior artistes and stuntmen who have worked in my home production and who ask me for their money. Then I have to get on the hotline and request my production people to look into the matter. Thus I’m on the firing line all the time." Of course, it is his nice guy’ image that attracts these SOS calls. Charming, gracious, with a heart of gold within and tons of goodness without. That's how he’s bowled the film industry over. He, himself, has a simplistic explanation to this. "I consciously work at becoming a better person every day," he says. "It's important to be a nice person in order to have a nice image even on screen. Does that mean that he doesn't have strong dislikes? Or that he never indulges in a fit of strong anger? "Of course I get angry," Jackie answers indignantly. "I get very angry with stars who don't roll down their car windows at signals nor make contact with people. I have often asked them why they don't do so and they tell me that they are afraid of the street children carrying diseases! It makes me so mad." Jackie himself keeps open house and even seems to take a masochistic pride in the fact that he is taken advantage of, more often than not. "I like to encourage technicians to turn into producers or directors," he shrugs. "But I have been doing this for 14 years now and it hasn't harmed my career. Okay, so I've never been No 1, but then I haven't been No 100 either!" Right. And now with releases like Partho Ghosh’s Yugpurush, Priyadarshan’s Kabhi Na Kabhi and the Shashilal Nair directed Grahan, round the corner, he can well be content with his lot in life. What makes him take up minuscule roles time and again, say like the one in Border? Jackie smiles sheepishly in reply. "Well, I couldn’t throw up the chance of playing a pilot, which has been my real life dream role since childhood," he says. "Besides, I just didn't want to do the other role which was offered to me first Sunil Shetty’s role. For although I like action films, I only like hand fights and can't stand blasts. I’m not a good enough actor to have bombs blasting in front of my face and not flinch." Otherwise, the easy-going actor claims that he seldom gets rattled about anything in life. Certainly not about hits and flops. "I saw my brother die before me when I was 10 years old. Since then I've always felt that nothing worse can possibly happen," he shrugs. "1 was as relaxed before the release of my first film as I am now, even about my home productions. I believe that for every two steps forward you have to take one step back. So what's the point in worrying? Nothing jars me in life today. That's my strength.’ Is he planning to change his attitude now that his name has featured in the so-called Hit List’? "Why have I featured in the hit list?" he asks in return. "1 haven't the least idea. But it does tend to scare me of course. Today I feel that a bullet can come from anywhere! Just the other day, there were rumours that I had been shot dead and I kept getting calls with people asking me if I was alive" A throng of children come up, asking to click a photograph with him. He obliges with his usual grace, chatting them up and treating them to a round of chocolates before sending them off. "I think the television is the best medium to reach kids today. And I am planning to act in a serial for them," he replies. "I want to play either Gulliver or Sindabad or Mandrake I haven't decided which. But I have seen the kind of stuff my children watch on TV stuff which passes as ‘children's programmes and I am horrified. Have you seen the amount of violence that an episode of Tom and Jerry has? It would put Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sly Stallone together to shame. Tom has to go through sheer hell. A lawn mower is run on his back and he goes absolutely flat, his head is squashed, his. tail is stretched beyond limits... And then they talk about violence in films"