Veteran actor Jackie Shroff, who stars in the upcoming children fantasy film ‘The Great Grand Superhero- Aliens Ka Aagman’, said the genre remains close to his heart as it taps into a genre that’s missing from mainstream cinema. In the film, Shroff plays a grandfather who spins a story about being a superhero to his grandson, leading to all kinds of funny situations and an encounter with aliens.

“Children’s films are hardly made today and if there are films that are about them, their dreams, innocence then I love to explore that. We don’t get to see all of that in movies otherwise. I do all kinds of films, but this genre is close to my heart because there’s a child in all of us,” the actor told PTI in an interview in Mumbai.

‘The Great Grand Superhero’ is directed by Manish Saini, who won the National Film Award for his Gujarati language drama ‘Dhh’. He has also directed ‘Gandhi & Co’, ‘Shubh Yatra’, ‘Jai Mata Ji – Let’s Rock’ and award-winning short film “Giddh”.

Shroff, who previously appeared in children’s films like ‘Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors’ and ‘Bhoot Unkle’, said he grew up listening to stories like ‘Cinderella’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Arabian Nights’, but believes Indian children should also be more connected to their own cultural roots.

“As a child, instead of learning Atharvaveda, Ayurveda, Rigveda, we were learning ‘Jack and Jill went up the hill,’ ‘Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses,’ and ‘Aladdin.’ We are not learning about what is more Indian; I thought these were things we missed in childhood. Today, their imagination is shaped by the internet and AI,” he said, according to the PTI report.

Having played a superhero in the 1985 Indian film ‘Shiva Ka Insaaf’, Shroff said he feels “lucky” to get the opportunity to play a superhero yet again, this time, as a grandfather. “The senior-most person in the family is the grandfather and he has real superpowers. Kids learn so much from grandparents,” he said.

The 68-year-old actor also floated the idea of a homegrown superhero universe, imagining a crossover featuring his son Tiger Shroff’s film, ‘A Flying Jatt’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Ra.One’ and Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Krrish’, akin to Hollywood’s ‘Avengers’ franchise.

“When I did ‘Shiva Ka Insaaf’, I had to hang on at a certain height, jump, and do everything. Today, technology definitely is a big help now. Those days, it was tougher; now it’s easier. However, I did whatever I could,” he said. “But wearing a superhero costume is still not easy. For seven to eight hours you can’t go to the restroom, so these issues exist. So, you’ve to go through the grind,” the actor added.

“I entered this industry empty-handed and received so much love and respect from everyone. A lot of experimentation has happened in my career,” Shroff, who garnered acclaim for his work in films like ‘Hero’, ‘Parinda’, ‘Kaash’, ‘Gardish’, ‘Devdas’, ‘Mission Kashmir’ and others, said.

The actor will also be seen as Commissioner Ram Sinha in ‘Khalnayak Returns’. Last month, Sanjay Dutt announced a fresh interpretation of the 1993 hit, in which he played the role of Ballu. The makers had also unveiled a brief teaser of ‘Khalnayak Returns’.‘The Great Grand Superhero…’, produced under Zee Studios and Amdavad Films, is set to release in cinema halls on May 29. It also features Prateik Smita Patil, Bhagyashree Dasani, Sharat Saxena, Mihir Godbole, Durgesh Kumar, Saharsh Shukla, Shivansh Chorge and Kumar Saurabh in pivotal roles.