'There is no age bar in Bollywood'
Experience Speaks
Even though actors beyond 40 years of age are still reigning in Bollywood, actor Jackie Shroff, who has been missing from the fray, says the trend shows there is no age bar for actors.
In a career spanning more than two decades, Jackie gave hits like 'Hero', Andar Bahar, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Parinda, Khalnayak, Tridev, Agni Sakshi, Rangeela and Devdas.
“It shows that there is no age bar in Bollywood. It is a good trend. The actors are really doing well. It is a good thing that the actors are getting varied roles to play at this age.
Look at Amitabh Bachchan, he is 68 and look how his career is rocking,” Jackie said. “In Bollywood, big banners have their groups and camps whom they cast. I have never believed in the theory of groups or camps. I have worked with all kind of actors – Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Madhuri, Sridevi and others,” Jackie said.
However, nowadays, the veteran actor is seen more in films down South. “I feel I belong to small banners, which are also now growing. Renowned productions like UTV and Reliance are now backing small budget films. There is a change. Also, people are looking for new and innovative films,” he said.
When asked about the changes that he has witnessed in Bollywood, Jackie said, “Today, you just put movies in thousand theatres and in three days you get money and forget about it. Two decades back, films used to run for 75 weeks or 100 weeks. The movie becoming platinum jubilee, golden jubilee was a big thing, now if a film is houseful for three days, it is a big thing.”
Jackie will be seen in a Hindi movie 'Cover Story', a dramatic thriller, directed by first timer Laurence Postma. The film also stars Sheena Nayyer, who was last seen in a horror film Mallika.
“It is a murder-mystery. I essay the role of war correspondent and I am forced to interview an actress (Sheena). The whole film is about these two people. The movie is expected to release by September-October this year,” Jackie said. His upcoming regional projects include 'Platform No. 1', a Malayalam film and 'The Shadow', a Telugu action film. Both the films are likely to release this year.
