| | | Jackie with son Tiger at the Santa Cruz domestic airport
Pic: Pradeep Dhivar | On March 2, Jackie Shroff celebrated son Tiger's birthday quietly at home, with only some close friends and well wishers dropping in. Jackie also has a 13-year-old daughter Krishna.
Says Jackie, who is flying off to Goa for a few days, "There was hardly a party. Tiger turned sweet 16 on March 2 and we celebrated by cutting a cake after he came back from school, and then he started surfing the net. Tiger has grown up.
He didn't want any fuss and is embarrassed to celebrate the occasion, so we abided by his wishes." What did he give him? "A huge hug!" smiles Jaggu dada.
Any advice he passed on? "No, children nowadays are mature and balanced enough to take care of themselves. Tiger knows his parents are there for him if he needs advice."
Is Tiger interested in acting? "No, at the moment he is very keen on basketball and football. Tiger loves football. His dream is of making it to the World Cup team some day. He is very good and plays for his local team. On weekends, he goes to Thane, where his coach Abito trains him. On other days, he plays at the St Xavier's ground behind Press Club. A month ago, he returned from playing in Dhaka," adds the proud father.
Soccer-mad
"Tiger's love for football comes from his Bengali roots. Ayesha's (Jackie's wife) father is Air Vice Marshall Ranjan Dutt (Retd)." Tiger is also part-Gujarati (on Jackie's side) and part Belgian. "Ayesha's mother, Claudienne, is Belgian."
Doesn't Jackie want his son to follow in his footsteps? "Naseeb ki baat hai. It's a fantastic profession as it reaches out to the world. I would love it if Tiger became a star. But he wants to be a sportsman, and I am okay with that. I don't want him to have the stress of being an actor, and the insecurities and negativity that come with it. I don't know how he will be able to handle the media."
Favourite film
Does Tiger watch his films? "When he was a kid, he used to watch all my films. His favourite is Mission Kashmir. But now, with his school and soccer, he doesn't have the time to watch."
Jackie himself has been busy completing his films. "I got a lot of critical appreciation for Antarmahal. I have just completed Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya, a Malayali and a Telegu film, Astram, Bhoot Uncle, Naksha, Mera Dil Leke Dekho and Divorce. Also two new films — Vikram Bhatt's next, and a film with south actress, Shobhana." |
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