JACKIE SHROFF INTERVIEW

The normally cheerful Jackie Shroff has been feeling a little low lately. The actor is peeved with the public reaction to his old friend Shashi Ranjan’s film Doobara, where Jackie was seen in the role of a television writer caught between his wife and an ex-lover. The film was instantly rejected at the box office, so Radio Sargam asked Jackie for his reaction…

The initial reaction to Doobara is not very heartening. Are you very unhappy?
See, it is not that I am too unhappy, but yes, I am a trifle disturbed over the initial box office reports. Most of the critics have said that the film looks old. It does appear stale, but one has to understand that Doobara is a content-driven story and not an extravagant costume drama where visuals hold prime importance. Doobara is a film for a mature audience and I have been repeatedly pleading with the audience to accept different genre of films. They should wake up to the fact that it is important to have the creative juices flowing. The same old actioners, with lots of dishoom dishoom, won’t work now. We have become so technologically advanced. How can we get regressive in terms of cinema content?

Does it hurt when your film bites the dust?
Yes, it does hurt and very badly I must say, because you work so hard on your film. You almost bring it up like your baby. Actors don’t realize this because they only come, act and leave. Ask the producers and the directors how much hard work they put into a film. Let me explain me this vis-à-vis Doobara. Shashi (Ranjan, director) will have to bear the brunt of the media and the distributors if Doobara doesn’t sustain itself. However, he will not get any good words, in case the film is a superhit. It is the actors who will walk off with accolades. This is a sad affair, but it has been going on for years. For that matter, even writers are not given their due.

Are you disturbed with the kind of films Indian film industry is creating today?
Yes, I am. We need to think of good stories; that will sustain the audience attention and not bore the hell out of them. I am not blaming anyone. Even my own film, Boom, was an example of bad script. We spent magnanimously on production, but did it work? No, simply because the content was lacking.

Once bitten, twice shy, you must be careful this time around on the production front…
Yes, I realized with Boom that production is not my forte. Hence, I will not be producing any film, until I grasp the responsibilities of a producer in a proper fashion. The production aspect, from now on, will be looked into by my wife (Ayesha). I will only act, because that’s what I can do.

Your comic-shaded, character-based role in Devdas was appreciated by the gallery. Why didn’t you do comedy after that?
Yes, the role of Chunni Babu was one of my best in recent times. And I am glad to have received so much praise for it. The only rueful fact is that I couldn’t get a chance to play the lead role. I would love to play Devdas someday. Another dream role is that of Prince Salim from the film Mughal-E-Azam.

Why have you taken to character roles of late, when most of you contemporaries are going strong as leads?
Today, a character role is much stronger than that of the lead hero’s role. You never know which role clicks with the audience. However, I am playing lead roles in one-off films. It is not that I am not a hero anymore. Am I that bad, bhidu?

Which of your roles have been your favourites?
Most of my roles are close to my heart. Besides Chunni Babu’s role in Devdas, I like my role in Mission Kashmir. The role of Gawa Ferozi was the most popular and dreadful character after that of Gabbar Singh’s. Over the years, I have been associated with style. But it is my simple roles, like those in Gardish and Angaar which are my favourites.

Are you content with your career right now?
Oh, of course yes. I have been around for years and I am thankful that they know who Jackie Shroff is. I have achieved a lot and would love to achieve some more success. I know success cannot be for permanent. A day will come when even I will fade into oblivion.

Are you saying this because your dad was an astrologer and even you have a streak of astrology in you…
No, I am just talking of a mere future. Nothing is permanent, including my career. Father indeed was a great astrologer. He had predicted so many things that came true. He had asked my brother not to step out of the house on a day. My brother and I went out together and my brother drowned trying to save another kid. The kid was saved, but my brother lost his life. My father also told India’s biggest industrialist Dhuirubhai Ambani that he would be a big man one-day and have a mansion by the sea. Dhirubhai was a small man then. His wife Kokilaben told my father that he must be joking. But dad was right. My father even said that I would get into Mass Media and I did. My father wanted me to learn astrology. I wish I had learnt it from him.

Written by Qamar Zaman