NOV 04: Jackie Shroff never went to acting school. As a child he aspired to be a chef and never imagined he would be an actor. Petrified of the stage in school, the closest he got to acting was singing Dev Anand songs for his friends. And though a two-year stint in modelling preceeded his entry into Bollywood, Jackie had little idea about acting when Subhash Ghai signed him for his debut film Hero. "Subhash ji really handled me with kid gloves. He used to make me speak one line at a time to make it easier for me." Subsequently, Jackie learnt the ropes of the trade from fellow actors such as Sunny Deol and Anil Kapoor and from director Mahesh Bhatt. However, the actor says he has never taken acting too seriously: "Though I try to understand the character I am playing, I believe in spontaneity and don't rehearse too much for my roles." Having worked with all the major Bollywood directors including Subhash Ghai (Hero and Ram Lakhan), Vidhu Vinod Chopra (1942) and Priyadarshan(Gardish), Jackie does not believe there is any set formula for a good performance. "I am a director's actor and let myself be guided by my director's vision." Instinctive by nature, Jackie says he chooses his roles on the basis of his gut feeling as opposed to the size of the banner. An approach which has worked well for the actor so far. "Though I did not play the lead in Rangeela, my role had a lot of thought to it and fetched me the Best Supporting Actor's award. Likewise in Agni Sakshi, I played the role of a man who accepts his wife even after discovering that she was married before."The actor, who has not been in the reckoning at the box-office for quite some time, concedes he has made some wrong professional choices. But he has no regrets. Though his career never scaled the heights of success after Hero, he argues, it never plummetted either. "I've seen a lot of guys come and go, but I'm still very much here. Don't write me off just yet. My best is yet to come." With astring of promising ventures in the pipeline, the optimism is not misplaced. Besides the late Mazhar Khan's much awaited Gang, Jackie is doing Jadh with Shantanu Sheorey, Dil Ke Aas Paas with Partho Ghosh, Refugee with J P Dutta, and Farz with Raj Kanwar. His home banner Grahan is also slated for a December release. That gives Jackie ample opportunity to prove himself the king and not just the jack of his trade!
