‘I’ll be called sexist for being overprotective’

Usually soft-spoken, actor Tiger Shroff (far left) says that he is “overprotective” beyond imagination when it comes to his sister Krishna Shroff (left). “If you ask me, I’m the kind of guy who just wants to wrap his sister in a blanket, because I am an over-protective brother,” says Tiger. “I know that after saying this, people will say, ‘Oh, he’s sexist,’ and I’ll be called all sorts of names. But I don’t care, because people like to perceive things in their own way.”

Tiger recently faced flak for calling his female co-stars “padding”, but he later clarified that the word was used for anything outside his own zone in a film project, and that he wasn’t referring to the female leads specifically. Given how protective he is, we ask why Tiger didn’t fire at those who trolled Krishna for posting her “topless” photos on Instagram — the photos, in fact, only showed her bare back — even though his father, actor Jackie Shroff, was vocal about the matter.

Tiger says, “I didn’t take a stand because I don’t see anything wrong with what my sister posted… it wasn’t in your face. A lot of people out there get [all sorts of] photo shoots done and post their pictures, so it’s her wish. Everybody has that freedom of [expression] and… you can’t always expect positive [reactions] from others.”

The actor, whose films include Heropanti (2014), Baaghi, A Flying Jatt (2016) and the recent release Munna Michael, calls his sister his “most honest critic”.

Stating that his father rarely gives him feedback on his performance, Tiger adds, “The maximum inputs come from Krishna. She has studied filmmaking, so she’s very intellectual in that sense. The best piece of advice she gave me was, ‘Don’t overdo it, and just be in the character. Don’t do too much, don’t do too little.’” Being an assistant on the sets of Munna Michael, Krishna, says Tiger, “was like my second director”.