Bollywood is noticing me again: Jackie Shroff

Sitting in his plush 14th floor apartment near Bandstand, Jackie Shroff is in a reflective mood. Having completed 30 years in cinema, film offers for the veteran actor are far from drying up. In fact, Shroff states that of late, offers are just pouring in non-stop. Jackie speaks to us about the highs and lows of stardom...

Are you nervous about your son making his debut soon?
Not at all! When my first film released, I was sleeping at that hour. You have to take it easy. You've worked sincerely, now what happens is up to the audience. Toh khoon jalaane se kya faayda?

You're playing the lead in a Hindi film after a very long time...
The first 15 years of my career I did sing songs but I never really danced. Then came the trend of two-hero films. So there was me and Anil, me and Sunny and so on. I kept doing anything that came my way. Mujhe farak hi nahi padta. Height hai, body hai, aawaz hai, discipline hai. Khada ho jata hoon toh dikh jata hoon (smiles).

You stayed busy with regional films along the way...
Yes and that's the time I started getting roles here again. The first Tamil film I did, Aaranya Kaandam, it got a National Award. It had people looking at me in a different light again. Then came Dhoom 3, Aurangzeb... Tigmanshu Dhulia's assistant offered me a great cameo in his film and then I'm in Rajnikanth's Kochadaiyaan.

Was this a turning point?
It could be as they are really strong roles. I had been playing roles in Telugu and Tamil films but in Hindi, they were scattered. You can rule the roost for 15 years and then it's time to let the newer lot take over. It always happens. Bachchanji was at his peak, then he went down, now he's at the peak again. I have no illusions. Bahut dekha, bahut khaya, bahut maze liye, abhi bhi le raha hoon!