Magical Jaggu Dada (Jackie Shroff's New article)

Bollywood veteran Jackie Shroff is set to bring his magic on television with STAR One's India's Magic Star. On this show Jackie will play judge, along with two famous magicians S A C Vasanth and Rajat Narsimhan.

The trio will judge the tricks and special effects and wizardry of budding magicians, from across the counrty. Jackie is quite excited to be part of the show because he says he's always fascinated by the idea of illusions. So here's our Jaggu dada chatting about his new foray and also shares tips for young boys about the magic of impressing girls. Read on!

Which is your favourite trick?
My favourite magical trick would be to make anyone disappear. A second would be to make money from thin air. Actually, even in our films we are performing illusions. Magic is fascinating because in everyone of us is a little kid hidden.

What's your take on magic - reality or illusions?
I am still a kid who always wants to live in the world of illusion but at the same time I want to get rid of hunger which is reality.

There have been several magical and fantasy movies. Which ones are your favourite?
Alice in Wonderland! It's a book as well as a film but as a kid I used to read the book. And as for movies, Chota Chetan. I am also fond of my film Bhoot Uncle in which I could create food for the little kids.

If you could make one person disappear who would it be?
I don't want any person to disappear but I want poverty to vanish. But if forced to make one person vanish, I'd probably pick myself. For Mr. India and Bhoot uncle can do anything they want! (smiles)

So if you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be?
I'd like to be a healer so that I can heal everything right from poverty to broken marriages. In short I want to be a messiah.

I'm sure there are several tricks which have fascinated you. Which trick have you always wanted to learn?
I have always been fascinated with the one where you get money from air. I intend to learn this trick on the show very soon. And after that I will share that trick with you too...

And your favourite magic based show?
I like Criss Angel's magic show which is amazing. I remember a street magic show in Mumbai's Girgaum Chowpatty where Charlie used to perform and then there's P.C. Sorcar, an internationally active magician throughout the 1950s and 1960s, performing his Indrajal show.

What is the one magic trick you can actually perform? If you were to perform a magic trick, what would your line be before you unravel your trick?
I can perform the "coin going through glass". It is the magic trick I will show the audiences if they asked me to perform.
My line would be - 'Jhakas ya phir Bindass bhi sahi hain bhidu…'

Can a guy use magic to impress a girl? If yes, what can he do?
According to me to impress a girlfriend one must look into her eyes because our eyes are magical. Look into her eyes for 20 seconds and everything would look magical. Hey boys be gentle, offer her a seat first, let her eat first. Good manners are something magical which would impress every girl!

If you had magical skills, who would you want to impress?
My children.

Which era would you want to go back to, if you had the formula to go back in time?
I would love to go back to my childhood days. I'd like to spend time with my mother because I miss her.

So it seems like our Jaggu Dada is definitely ready to be charmed and amazed by the contestants and their magic tricks. Maybe he will even pick up a couple of tricks and amaze the audiences himself. Don't be surprise, as anything can happen in a magic show!

So don't forget to watch Jhakas Jaggu dada as he takes you on a magical journey only on STAR One's India's Magic Star.