Tiger is not happy in Jordan. Although he’s having a ball shooting for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan with Akshay Kumar , he misses being back in Mumbai with his father Jackie Shroff on the latter’s birthday today February 1.
Speaking from Jordan Tiger says, “I wish I was home to spend the day with Dad. But he would never want me to leave my work for any reason.What do I wish for his birthday? Can I make a wish for myself on Dad’s birthday? I wish I could acquire even an iota of his selfconfidence and swag. The moment he enters a room he becomes the centre of attention. He doesn’t have to try to get attention.”
Says Tiger , “Every son’s first hero is his father.My dad was my first super-hero. For me he was Superman and Batman combined.I loved to see my Dad play the desi super-hero,My father didn’t have to try to be a super-hero. It came naturally to him. He was tall well-built and his body-language rendered itself effortlessly to the super-hero mould. I had to work hard to get into the super-hero mould in A Flying Jatt .”
And what has Jackie taught Tiger about life? “The one main thing that my father has taught me would be to love and respect my mother. His mother was everything to him. To me both my parents are everything for me. I can’t choose one over the other.”
Tiger admits he would never do a remake of his Dad’s films. “There are easier ways to commit suicide. With due respects to the remakes, I don’t want to be compared with him. In Hero my father was a….full-on hero, larger-than-life the ultimate pinup boy. To compete with that would’ve been very foolish. I didn’t like being compared with my father. There was nothing to compare! I was, and still am shy, gawky and very under confident around women. My father could charm anyone with just one look. What was I? Not even a chip off the block.”
Tiger says he would dare follow in his father’s footstep. “I would’ve never done a remake of my father’s film Hero. Not at the start of my career. Not now! The comparisons would have killed my career! My father oozed sexy confidence in Hero. In my debut film Hero-panti I could barely hold my own on camera. I got clobbered by critics in my first film. My dad was loved from the start,” says the affectionate yet reverent son, who admits he didn’t get much time with his dad during childhood. “When my sister and I were growing up, dad was out shooting constantly. Mom chose to give up her career and look after us. But dad would still make sure he was around for all mine and my sister’s important occasions, birthdays included.”