• Jackie plays a ghost that “haunts” Pratik’s character in the romantic comedy and teaches him the value of expressing love.
• Jackie discusses the movie, his role as a friendly ghost, and his own real-life paranormal encounters in an interview.
• On Friday, September 23, Zee5 premiered the Hardik Gujjar-directed film Atithi Bhooto Bhava.

One laughs while watching the new movie Atithi Bhooto Bhava featuring Jackie Shroff, Pratik Gandhi, and Sharmin Sehgal. Jackie plays a ghost that “haunts” Pratik’s character in the romantic comedy and teaches him the value of expressing love. Jackie discusses the movie, his role as a friendly ghost, and his own real-life paranormal encounters in an interview.

On Friday, September 23, Zee5 premiered the Hardik Gujjar-directed film Atithi Bhooto Bhava. Jackie explains his attraction to the movie by saying, “This film talks about love and I feel it is the apt message. This ghost is on the lookout for love, but he ends up teaching two young people the meaning of love. Second, I’m portraying a ghost for the second time following Bhoot Uncle. Because he is a being with special abilities who aids others, it is almost like a superhero story. I liked it.”

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Even though Jackie is a more experienced actor, he is constantly gushing about his younger co-stars, even comparing Pratik to Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya for his crisis management skills. Jackie says, “Sharmin is such a smooth and effortless actor. She fits in every role so wonderfully. And then Pratik Gandhi is iconic. I loved him in Scam 1992 and the amount of theatre work he has done is astonishing. It is always good to work with such an accomplished actor. He gives me Hardik Pandya vibes. Like Hardik said ‘main sambhaal loonga’, Pratik handles everything when you are on screen together.”

Jackie, who portrays a ghost in this film, has also had creepy encounters in real life, including one where he was so alarmed that he nearly “broke a record” while hiking. “We were hiking and all my friends were at the top and I was alone. It was a seven-kilometre trek and it was pretty late in the evening. It was secluded and all I could think of was ghost stories and think of demons and hear ghunghroo sounds. Haalat kharab ho gayi thi (I was terrified). I don’t think I have ever walked uphill that fast. I must have broken a world record back then,” says the actor, laughing.

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When he was still in his early 40s more than 20 years ago, Jackie made the smooth transition from leading roles to supporting or “senior” ones. The actor claims that he never gave a damn about the decision. “I was least bothered by whether I am playing the title character or not. It’s the strength of the role for me, not the length,” he says. Giving an example of his supporting role from the 2002 film Devdas, he adds, “I never thought that Shah Rukh is the star so I should not do a small role. Motilal ji did Chunni babu (in the 1956 Devdas). I am nobody in front of him. If he can, why can’t I? And then, I got to sit and watch Madhuri Dixit ji perform on Maar Daala for 15 days on set. What an amazing experience! Every role is a learning, whether big or small.”

After Atithi Bhooto Bhava, Jackie will encounter some further spectral material. His upcoming movie is called Phone Bhoot. The Gurmeet Singh-directed film, which stars Katrina Kaif, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Ishaan Khatter, will be released the following month. Jackie also appears in the multilingual Rendagam, which debuted last Friday and is in Malayalam and Tamil.