It has been a minute since we’ve watched Jackie Shroff in a movie. The Bollywood star has garnered a lot of love from audiences over the years for his impressive filmography spanning decades and for his down-to-earth personality off-screen. In his latest film, he plays a character that’s at once fresh and familiar – a ghost. Titled Atithi Bhooto Bhava, the Hardik Gajjar directorial also stars Pratik Gandhi and Sharmin Segal in pivotal roles. The film sparks a recall of Shroff’s previous works as he plays Makhan Singh, a wandering spirit longing to reconnect with his mortal lover. But that isn’t the only reason he signed up to play a spirit bound to the Earth. In an exclusive interview with Filmfare, Jackie Shroff revealed what made him pick the role.
Talking about the storyline of Atithi Bhooto Bhava, he explained, “A guy comes back from the afterlife as a ghost to find his love and he comes to the house of a man who cannot express love. It’s amazing. So there are two contrasting characters – one who is looking for his love while the other has love but cannot express it. He doesn’t think it’s necessary to express love.”
Recalling his Bhoot Unkle (2006) days, he said, “I thought about it when they offered me the movie and said it’s the role of a ghost. I said ‘wow I’ve done Bhoot Unkle’ which is why I wanted to do this. Secondly, they told me that Pratik Gandhi is in the film. And I said I’ve seen him as an actor. He’s superb. I know he won’t touch a film if he doesn’t like the content. So that was the second reason.”
“The third reason was that it was about a man who had died and had come back just to see his love once. All these things made me say yes. The director Hardik Gajjar has handled us so beautifully like a father to a child although he is my son’s age. But aajkal ke bacche baap bangaye hai haha,” he added.
SEE ALSO: Atithi Bhooto Bhava Movie Review