Jackie Shroff says astrologer dad predicted something bad would happen the day his brother drowned

Jackie Shroff has revealed that his astrologer father had told his brother that it was a bad day for him, before he drowned in the sea at the age of 17. Jackie was ten at the time and has no other siblings. 

Jackie was talking to Twinkle Khanna about how people make fun of astrology and cited examples of how his father made certain predictions which turned out to be true. 

Talking to Twinkle on her Tweak India platform, he said, “Bhai ko bola tha, ‘aaj kharab din hai, mat jaana bahar’ (He told my brother it’s a bad day and that he shouldn’t leave the house). He used to work at Century Mills. He was a mill hand. He said ‘Don’t go to your mill today.’ And he didn’t go. But he went down to save somebody in the sea, and drowned, without knowing how to swim.”

He further added, “When he said, it’s a bad day, my brother died. He told me that I’d become an actor, I have become an actor. He was close to Natubhai Ambani and Kakilaben Ambani and had told her, ‘your husband will be a big man one day’. Dhirubhai used to say, “gandho thayo che (he has gone mad).”

Jackie was also praised by Twinkle Khanna for his English accent, to which he replied, “I am born in Mumbai and that’s the language the locals use. I’ve unfortunately not studied beyond 11th grade.” Sharing how he actually did it, he said, “Kaan khol ke suna, picture dekha, Clint Eastwood ko mera English teacher banaya (I kept my ears open, watched films and made Clint Eastwood my English teacher).” 

Twinkle also asked him if he went hungry to get the right look for the film, Rangeela. The actor denied dieting in his life and said, “Thobda hoga, chaal hoga to pet-vet koi nahi dekhta hai (if you have the face and the walk, no one looks at your belly).”

He added, “Even if you have a paunch, it’s beautiful. It’s important for Indians to have a paunch. We go to take photographs of sculptures. They are beautiful, so voluptuous. It’s a gift. You have to have that little thing.”

Jackie had recently appeared in Netflix series Call My Agent. He had played himself on the show and was part of a segment featuring Nandita Das as a filmmaker, trying to make him shoot with dogs. He quits her film over his fear of dogs and reveals that he was actually bitten by one and knows the pain. 

Also read: Jackie Shroff says he had ‘no contribution’ in bringing Tiger Shroff up: ‘Was always away for work’

Calling it a true story, Jackie told Twinkle that he is afraid of not just dogs but many things. “I was like a scared little guy. I used to get scared of firecrackers. I used to run under the bed. My mum really gave me strength.”