EXCLUSIVE: “Dev Anand blessed me with Swami Dada, Subhash Ghai made me Hero,” says Jackie Shroff; calls the film “foundation” of his career

In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, actor Jackie Shroff recalled the initial days of his acting career and stated the success of Hero created a foundation for him.

Subhash Ghai directorial Hero was the film which made Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri overnight superstars. Released on 16 December 1983, the film turned out to be a major turning point in both stars' careers, especially Jackie, who used to live in chawl at that time. Although Jackie's first film was Swami Dada, as a hero, Jackie stepped into the film industry with the film Hero. In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Shroff talked about the film.

EXCLUSIVE: “Dev Anand blessed me with Swami Dada, Subhash Ghai made me Hero,” says Jackie Shroff; calls the film “foundation” of his career

When asked how important Hero has been in his acting career, Jackie replied, “come on I'm here because of Hero. Nahi toh kon tum log bulatey (otherwise no one would have invited me for interviews).”

After sharing a hearty laugh, Shroff further added, “Hero ne mujey khada kar diya. Mera foundation hai. Dev Saab ne mujhe bless kar diya Swami Dada mai, aur Subhash Ji ne mujey hero banake sab ke samney khada kar diya (Hero is my foundation. Mr Dev Anand blessed me with Swami Dada and Subhash Ghai made me a hero for the audience).”

As he continued, he said, “logo ne mera bansuri pasand kiya, action pasand kiya, emotion pasand kiya aur ab mai baitha hua hu, mazzey le rha hu. Aap log pyaar kar rahe hai mai pyaar de rha hu (the audience showered love on me after seeing me playing the flute, my actions and emotions in the film. They kept loving me and I reciprocated).”

Coming to the professional front, the 65-year-old actor is currently gearing up for his next release, titled Life is Good. Produced under the banner of Anand Shukla Production, the forthcoming film is directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan. It is slated to release on December 9.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Jackie Shroff reveals how he became ‘Jackie’ from ‘Jaikishan’: “Had a classmate in school who felt that Jaikishan was too long”