For Jackie Shroff, enacting the character of great Mughal musician Mia Tansen on the silver screen is a dream
The 55-year-old actor said that the film has to be made by a director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali. "If you ever ask me what my all-time dream character is, my answer will be Mia Tansen, the great composer-musician in Hindustani classical music," Shroff said.u00a0
ADVERTISEMENT
u00a0
"And ideally the film should be directed by a person like Bhansali who is a great director and has a marvellous sense of classical music," he said. Shroff's role of Chunilal in Bhansali's big budget Hindi film 'Devdas' based on Bengali novelist Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's universally-loved classic had earned handsome praise.u00a0
u00a0
For an extraordinary vocalist like Tansen, known as one of the 'Navaratnas' in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar, Bhansali would have been the right person to fully bring out the nuances of such a character, Shroff, who came to the city for a role in Nitish Roy's Bengali movie 'Jole Jangale', said.u00a0
u00a0
In 1943, K L Saigal had immortalised the legendary vocalist by lending his voice to the character in a film directed by Jayant Desai. Talking about Bengali films, Shroff said it was upto the directors to offer him roles, and that he was partial to any good script.u00a0
u00a0
"Like Nitish, a good friend of mine, had offered me this role of a rich businessman passionate about collecting wild animals. I liked the novelty of the character. I couldn't turn him down and the shoot was over in two days. For me the request of a friend like Nitish will always matter," he said.u00a0
u00a0
'Jole Jangale' also stars Mithun Chakraborty, Mumtaz Sorcar, Rajdeep Gupta and Wriju Biswas among others. Asked why he did not work with prominent Bengali directors after starring in Rituparno Ghosh's 'Antarmahal' in the role of a zamindar way back in 2005, Shroff said, "Why don't you ask them?u00a0
u00a0
I don't know why Rituparno did not consider me for any other role later or why for that matter directors like Goutam Ghosh or Buddhadeb Dasgupta did not approach me."u00a0
u00a0
Shroff has appeared in over 150 films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada and Marathi. The 'Rangeela' star, who has not seen 'Kahaani' yet but "heard so much about the film," is also willing to work with the film's maker, Sujoy Ghosh.u00a0
u00a0
"People are talking so much about 'Kahaani' and Kolkata. I could not find time yet to watch the film... would have to squeeze out some time. I have been told about Sujoy's story-telling craft. He is one among the upcoming directors I would love to work with," Shroff said.u00a0
u00a0
Asked about other directors he likes to work with, Shroff named Onir, Dibakar Banerjee and Imtiaz Ali. Shroff feels marketing and promotion cannot on their own ensure the successful run of a film.u00a0
u00a0
The actor who has given hit films like 'Teri Meherbaniyan', 'Karma', 'Ram Lakhan', 'Tridev' and 'Parinda' admitted he never felt insecure or frightened before the release of any of his films.
"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels 
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
