They say money and fame change people; however, there have been enough examples to prove otherwise. Even in the world of Bollywood, where fame doesn’t take long to reach one’s head, there have been actors who never forgot their humble beginnings, stayed grounded and didn’t let their success change their core. And speaking of such stars, a name that cannot be missed is Jackie Shroff. The actor became a household name in 1983 after his film ‘Hero.’ However, did you know that even after his movie became a big hit, he continued to live in his old chawl for a couple of years?
Why did Jackie Shroff live in his old chawl despite the success of ‘Hero’?
Starring Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Seshadri, Sanjeev Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Amrish Puri, and Shakti Kapoor, ‘Hero’ is one of Subhash Ghai’s classic movies. The movie rendered Jackie Shroff both name and monetary gains, yet he lived in his chawl for four to five years, because it simply made him happy. Interestingly, filmmakers also used to visit him at his chawl in Teen Batti to narrate movies. Once in an old conversation with us, Jackie confessed, “They used to come and narrate scripts to me in my chawl, sitting outside on a drum, which I had made like chairs. If I had to answer nature’s calls, they would wait there sitting for me.”“I stayed in my chawl till 4-5 years after my first film was released. I felt happy there. And all my friends used to come, my mother used to cook for them, they used to love her food,” continued the ‘King Uncle’ actor.
All about Jackie Shroff’s chawl in Teen Batti
Once while speaking with Ranveer Allahbadia, the actor recalled his early days and spoke at length about his living situation at a chawl in Teen Batti. He said, “I remember those years when I would stand outside the chawl’s bathroom with my mug. There were seven small buildings, and we had a total of three bathrooms for all the people of those buildings.”“There would be a line outside the toilet every morning because people would be in a hurry to go to work. This memory is still so fresh in my mind… that sometimes I still see myself standing in that line in my dreams,” he added.
When Jackie Shroff recalled being bitten by a rat in his chawl
During the same interview, the ‘Ram Lakhan’ actor further detailed a few memories of the small room where he used to live. From recounting the heartfelt moments where his mom cooked him meals, to recalling the time he saw a snake and was bitten by a rat, he shared all. “I used to sit on the floor and eat, which is the best way to eat, I think. My mother would cook, and I would sit on the ground and eat. Those memories haven’t left my mind. I used to sleep on the floor of this room,” he said before adding, I saw a snake in the corner of that room. Once a rat bit me and my mom. This I am talking about: mid-60s, that time around.”
What is Jackie Shroff doing currently?
Jackie Shroff was recently seen in ‘The Great Grand Superhero: Aliens Ka Aagman,’ and the multi-starrer ‘Welcome To The Jungle.’ Also, according to India Today, he has signed on for the sequel to ‘Khalnayak’ alongside Sanjay Dutt. He will also reunite with his ‘Hero’ co-star Meenakshi Seshadri in ‘Nanavati vs Nanavati.’
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