Subhash Ghai recalls Jackie Shroff's Hero: 'Took courage to produce a film with new hero'

Mumbai, May 29 (IANS) Filmmaker Subhash Ghai is credited with introducing some prominent faces to the entertainment industry, one of them being Jackie Shroff, who made his Bollywood debut with the 1983 romantic entertainer, "Hero".

It has been 43 years since the movie reached the cinema halls and Jackie has not looked back since.

Ghai used social media to thank his entire team, along with the actors, distributors, and financiers, who contributed to making Mukta Arts what it is today.

He further claimed that it took a lot of courage to make a movie with a debutant and deliver a massive hit like "Hero".

Ghai penned on his Instagram, "You need to have a courage to produce a FILM with NEW HERO on big scale with creative freedom to make a block buster like HERO which ran for 75 weeks n its music is still haunting. After 43 years."

The 'Taal' maker added, "Thanks to my team my actors n distributors n financier who supported me to establish MUKTA ARTS in 1982. Post HERO mukta arts groomed many stars who are legends today n produced 42 films under mukta...Feel blessed."

With Meenakshi Sheshadri as the leading lady, "Hero" also starred Sanjeev Kumar, Neeta Mehta, Shammi Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Madan Puri, Bindu, Bharat Bhushan, Shakti Kapoor, Urmila Bhatt, Shaikh Azad, and Suresh Oberoi in crucial roles, along with others.

The project reached the cinema halls on December 16, 1983, and turned out to be a massive hit at the box office, strengthening Shroff's position as a bankable lead actor.

Following the box office triumph, "Hero" was remade in Telugu and Kannada back in the 1980s. The movie was also retold in 2015 with the same title. It featured debutantes Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty as the lead pair.

--IANS

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