On the sidewalk

But then old habits are hard to break. Two decades ago when Jackie was still trying to scale Bollywood8217;s star scraper, he used to live in a chawl in Teenbatti. Since he wasn8217;t a star most of his day would be spent surrounded by the flavours, smells and local colour of the area. For instance, his mornings would begin with a walk. And the only other people awakeat that time 5.30 am were the staff of Gurunath. Situated right next to his house, if Jackie wasn8217;t pacing the streets, he would sit and watch their kitchen it sure beat the need for a television set! quot;I don8217;t know why, but it used to make me very happy. Maybe because someone besides me was also up so early,quot; he says.

The aroma of freshly-cooking usal, idlis and uttapam would also prompt Jackie to grab a bite. That it was cheap was an added incentive.Gurunath was also Jackie8217;s living room where he would catch up with his friends. But the biggest draw: quot;They used to give me credit. Since I lived next door, there was no chance of my running away with their money!quot;he says.