My character wasthereasonfor the success of Raaz 3D: Bipasha
The web remains familiar territory for Jackie Shroff
Sangeeta Yadav
Jackie Shroff aka Jaggu dada is perhaps one of those actors who has been continuously working since he made his Bollywood debut with Swami Dada (1982). Having done over 250 films so far, the 62-year-old has taken a big leap in his career and gone the OTT way with his web series Criminal Justice. And that decision has opened new doors for the actor, who calls it his rebirth in showbiz.
“When I did Hero (1983), I felt I was born in Bollywood. Now, after my first web series and many other web offers coming my way, I feel it’s my rebirth in the digital space. In 1999, when people were not born digitally, I had a website jackieshroff.com,” he says, adding, “I used to blog and chat with my fans. Since then, I’ve been familiar with the digital platform but I gave it up after a while as I was shooting for two films a day. But now, I’m taking baby steps in this medium.”
Jackie believes in changing with the times, something he does by interacting with fans on social media. “My daughter (Krishna Shroff) keeps telling me about social media. With OTT platforms, one can watch a web series or a film anywhere they want and any hour they wish,” he says.
After playing a security agent in the recently released movie RAW (Romeo Akbar Walter) and a criminal in a web series and his latest film Saaho, Jackie is surprised that an actor of his age is still considered to play such diverse roles. Earlier, he played both hero and anti-hero, such as terrorist Hilal Kohistani in Mission Kashmir (2000), JACKIE SHROFF
ACTOR
Chunni Babu in Devdas (2002) and a village simpleton Balram in Hulchul (2004). “It feels great that the makers still think I’m relevant in today’s time and consider me for such diverse roles. And it’s an eye-opener for me that I can handle such roles that easily,” Jackie says.
With star kid debuts every year, Jackie admits they do have an advantage, being launched in big-banner films. But he is quick to add, “There’s a pressure on these actors to live up to their [celebrity] father’s or mother’s fame and expectations. Though they get an easy start, that will never take them far in their career. I’ve never ever referred Tiger (his son) to anyone till today. He gets and will get a role on his capabilities. Agar talent nahin hai toh kaun paisa lagayega aap par?” Pooja Sharma
The Raaz franchise was perhaps, one of the first few films to have seen phenomenal success in the horror genre in the last few decades. When not many actors were ready to experiment with horror, Bipasha Basu Singh Grover took up the challenge. In fact, the success of the 2002 film spawned many sequels, with Bipasha going on to star in Raaz 3D (2012) and making a cameo appearance in Raaz Reboot (2016).
Elaborating on why she ventured into the horror space, she says, “The supernatural and black magic element made it very entertaining. It’s my darkest role ever. Even I got scared while watching myself in the film. I thought I was far scarier than the ghost (laughs). But, I thought I did an awesome job in the film and my character was also a huge reason for the success of Raaz 3D.”
Bipasha adds that she couldn’t identify with her role in the film (Raaz 3D) at all, and it was a complex character to play. “The only similarity was that I am an actor and my character, Shanaya, was also an actor. She was driven by her fame. She thought another new actor’s fame was the reason for her downfall. She didn’t realise that it is the law of every business. When new people come in, it doesn’t have to mean that you are finished. You should welcome the new as you were new at some point, too. Your body of work evolves and changes with time. She didn’t have the intelligence to understand that and would stoop to any level for her idea of fame,” she says.
BIPASHA BASU SINGH GROVER ACTOR