Jackie Shroff says he was a "superhero" to his family during financial crisis after Boom.Manish Saini’s new movie, The Great Grand Superhero, has released to largely positive reviews. It stars Jackie Shroff in the titular role, an elderly man whose grandson claims he’s a superhero. Feeling the burden of his expectation, Jackie’s character actually turns into one. In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, he recalled how he also turned superhero for his family during their tough times in the early 2000s.Shroff family’s superhero“The father is always the superhero,” says Jackie, adding with a grin, “There’s no pressure because superheroes don’t feel pressure. Even if they do, they don’t show it.” Jackie’s wife Ayesha Shroff had produced Kaizad Gustad’s 2003 black comedy thriller Boom, which also served as the debut film of Katrina Kaif.Despite starring Amitabh Bachchan following the actor’s second coming in 2000 with Kaun Banega Crorepati and Mohabattein, Boom bombed at the box office, forcing the Shroff family to sell several assets, including the furniture of their house. It even caused a strain in Jackie and Ayesha’s marriage, but the actor’s inventive investment plans allowed the family to bounce back from financial ruin.Even though his son Tiger Shroff is an A-list star today and his daughter Krishna Shroff is a successful entrepreneur, Jackie still can’t forget the times when the sun wasn’t shining on the Shroffs. “I remember all my times. I’m not that I old that I forget. My memory is good,” he says, smiling. Jackie Shroff in Great Grand Superhero.While he continues to guard his family as head of the family, Jackie admits he’s held on to his innocence because he has his mother’s heart. “I have maa ka dil. There’s a lot of love in a mother’s heart. It rests within me. Some people also have their father’s heart. They are tough. But a mother always caves in,” adds Jackie.It’s not just the innocence but also the nurturing quality, his viral movement to plant more jhaad (trees), that also comes from his late mother. “Kids usually imbibe what they learn from their mothers. She used to love roses. I put those on her grave on her birthday recently,” says Jackie.Playing a superhero at 69Combing his tough, larger-than-life personality with the “maa ka dil” is what’s probably also helped Jackie play a grandfather-cum-superhero. He admits it wasn’t a cakewalk to get into the superhero costume at 69. “Of course, it’s hot but you don’t complain about it,” says Jackie, adding, “Who asked you to be an actor? Mujhe kisi ne zabardasti toh nahi bola actor banne! So, be thankful.”Story continues below this adMultiple actors, who have played popular superheroes in Hollywood, have confessed that besides the heat of that fabric, the toughest part of getting into the suit is the effort that goes into taking a loo break, thanks to absence of zippers. But Jackie proudly claims he figured out a hack. “Control hai bhai. Yog aur saans pe dhyaan! Just sip your water a little bit. No complaints,” he says, adding, “Mehnat toh hai. It may look very ‘wow’ from the outside, but there’s a lot of grime behind the shine.”But The Great Grand Superhero wasn’t Jackie’s first time playing a superhero. In fact, he headlined India’s first 3D superhero movie, Raj N Sippy’s Shiva Ka Insaaf (1985) 41 years ago. “It was really tedious. I’d even gone to the US with these gentlemen to test the camera, but it was good fun,” says Jackie.Also Read — Bobby Deol says ‘heartbreak’ of being replaced in Jab We Met made him a ‘better actor’When the trailer of his latest film dropped online, Tiger reposted it on his Instagram Stories and hailed Jackie as “Flying Jatt ka baap,” referring to Remo D’Souza’s 2016 superhero comedy, where Tiger played a turbaned superhero. Jackie laughs and recalls how obsessed Tiger was with Shiva Ka Insaaf during childhood. “He was mad about it. He used to think, ‘My father is a superhero.’ I think that’s what every kid thinks of his father,” says the actor.