‘I am surprised it took me this long to do a Gujarati film’: Jackie Shroff

After shooting an intense scene for his debut

Gujarati

movie

Ventilator

at a city hospital, Jackie Shroff lazily sauntered towards his vanity van for a well deserved lunch break. The affable star was a gracious host who generously treated us to some absolutely delicious ghaari and Alphonso mangoes before settling down for a conversation. Excerpts:

What made you sign your first ever Gujarati movie at this point of time?
Honestly, I have never learnt to say ‘no’ to a project. It is just that after this short film of mine with Neena Gupta, Khujli got an award and people started thinking that I have become choosy about doing films. I have done regional films in more than 10 languages. So, it actually surprises me that it took me this long to do a Gujarati film. As some one whose roots are in Saurashtra (father’s side), doing a Gujarati film was always on my wish list.

Your debut Gujarati film is the remake of the National Award winning Marathi film Ventilator. Is there a pressure to recreate a role that was critically acclaimed?
When the makers of this film got in touch with me for this role, I first watched the original to get a sense of what the script is like. The film touched me so much that I gave my go ahead without even asking what role I was being offered. When I learnt it was Ashutosh Gowariker’s (who played the lead in the Marathi version) role that I had to play, I was happy to know it. The only difference in the characterization is — Ashutosh was essaying the role of a director whereas I am playing an actor in the film.

You have a lengthy shooting schedule in Ahmedabad. Are you enjoying it?
Absolutely! There are 50 characters in this movie and most of them are played by veterans from Gujarati theatre, Hindi television and Gujarati films. All of them are such perfectionists at their craft that you get to constantly learn from them. But the best thing is, they are totally pampering me with a lot of Gujarati food. There’s literally a lot of ‘sweetness’ that is added on my platter everyday and I am loving that. They are also helping me work on my slightly rusty Gujarati, which is great.

How excited are Tiger and Krishna about you doing a Gujarati film?
We generally don’t really talk about films at home. But they are excited since we have our roots in Gujarat and there is a sense of belongingness about this particular project.

All of you in your family are chasing busy schedules, how do you take out time for each other?
No matter how busy I am, I make sure to take time out for my family. And even Tiger loves to be with us. But he has been keeping really busy recently and we get very little time with each other. However I feel good to see him working so hard.

Tell us how do you manage to stay fit?
I have never been to a gym. I do yoga including pranayam and suryanamaskars. I believe, it is essential to breathe right and breathe fresh air. In fact, I have many plants at my home that continue releasing oxygen even at night. I stick to the basics when it comes to food. I have small meals with lots of fruits. I guess that is good enough to stay in shape.
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