While Sooraj Pancholi made his debut with the Salman Khan production, Hero, the Subhash Ghai-directed blockbuster original of the same name had made a star out of its leading man, Jackie Shroff, back in 1983.
Sooraj doesn’t beat around the bush when asked if he has seen the original Hero.
He admits candidly, “I have seen the original a couple of times. I loved the film and I loved what Jackie sir and Meenakshi ma’am have done. I won’t be able to do what Jackie sir did in the film because the in real life too he is so cool and I think he beats me on that count. I haven’t even attempted to imitate him. I would have got a lot of criticism had I copied him. "he continues, " I have tried it my way and this is what Salman sir and Nikhil sir (director Nikhil Advani) wanted.”
The young actor has also got Jackie’s blessings.
Sooraj reveals: “When he messaged me saying that he loved the trailer of my film, I called him up. He said, ‘Bhidu, dikh raha tha ki bahut dil se kaam kiya hai. Mera bachha hai tu, aage bhi aur kaam karna. Abhi aur 15 Hero karna.’”