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Join UsIf Bollywood can be criticized for nepotism and giving undue importance to star sons and star daughters by giving them easy breaks, it also has its share of actors who have fought their way up literally from slums to penthouses and bungalows. One such much loved star is Jackie Shroff.
Today 1st February is his Birthday. Let us reminiscence some rare trivia about him on his birthday.
Jackie Shroff whose real name is JaiKishan Kakubhai Shroff was staying in a chawl in the Teen Batti area of Malabar Hill. His father was an astrologer who had predicted that he would be an actor. His Mother was from Kazakhstan. Jaikishan Kakubhai became Jaggu Dada after his tough brother drowned and he decided to take care of the slum people like his brother.
It was a series of chances that made him an actor. Chance 1 gave him a modelling career. Jackie was working in a travel agency and a person from a modelling agency saw him at a bus stop and asked him to “modelling karega?”. (Will u do modelling?) Jackie said “Paisa dega kya?” (Will u give me money?). From there his modelling career started.
Modelling career was a stepping stone to acting. Chance 2 was Asha K Chandra recognizing his potential and asking him to take acting classes from her acting school. Asha ji is a celebrity in her own right having given acting lessons to stars such as Dimple Kapadia, Naghma, Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar , Naghma and many others.
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Chance 3 was that Jackie met Dev Anand’s son Suneil Anand in his acting class and requested him to allow him to meet Dev Anand as his mother was a big fan. Lo and behold, when Jackie met Dev Saab, the evergreen hero said “I had seen your face in the morning and in the evening you are standing in front of me”. Dev Saab offered Jackie an acting debut in Swami Dada, which was a huge break.
Subsequently, Subhash Ghai gave him a bigger break the following year with Hero, and this movie launched Jackie to a hugely successful career. Jackie had a terrific bonding with Anil Kapoor and had memorable movies with him some of which are Andar Baahar, Yudh, Ram Lakhan, 1942 a Love Story and Parinda.
Jackie has had several successes and received various awards throughout his career. At personal level, he married his long-time girlfriend Ayesha. Their son, Tiger is now one of the most successful young stars of Bollywood. Jackie still retains his charm as one of the most stylish and charming personalities of the industry.
Happy Birthday Jackie.
Ritesh Misra is an IRS officer currently based in Mumbai. He blogs & tweets @riteshmisra.
