Jackie teaching Simi the tricks of his trade in his Hong Kong office

Simi Garewal flew to Hong Kong in mid-July for a special Rendezvous with the one and only Jackie Chan. Metro asked the lady in white about the elastic man.

You have mostly interviewed Indian and Pakistani celebrities on your show. How did you zero in on Jackie Chan?

Also Australians... Rupert Murdoch and Brett Lee! Jackie was a fairly obvious choice actually, considering he is the biggest star in Asia. Actually it is difficult for the western mind to comprehend the magnitude of his audience. When I read a poll conducted in India as to who the most popular non-Bollywood star was, Jackie came first before Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts! Then I decided I must really try to get him on my show.

Where else have you travelled with your crew for an interview?

We travelled to Jayalalitha’s place in Chennai for our Rendezvous. To Los Angeles for Rupert Murdoch. To Dubai for Benazir Bhutto. To London for Lakshmi Mittal. And now to Hong Kong for Jackie Chan. We were six of us from Mumbai and we had gone on July 16.

Are you a big Jackie Chan fan?

I had seen some Jackie Chan movies and enjoyed them. But when I started researching him for my show I saw almost all of them. I can see why he is such a big international star. I can see why his fans cut across all ages, all classes and all countries.

Have you known him before? Did you met him when he came down to Mumbai earlier this year?

No. I had never met him, never even seen him in real life. And prior to the actual interview we just shook hands, sat down, got miked, all in approximately 40 seconds! So there was no communication whatsoever before we rolled.

So what was Jackie the host like and the people around him?

As I said, I barely had 40 seconds before we rolled, but his staff members were most co-operative and efficient. We went to the location, his office, a day before for a recce to decide the camera set-ups and lighting requirements. Our entire unit stayed at Hunghom Plaza in Hunghom, not far from Kowloon, where his office is situated.

My crew said they just told the taxi: “145 Waterloo Road, please” and the drivers responded: “Oh! Jackie Chan?” Tourists visit this place and leave messages for Jackie on the outside walls.

What was the experience of interviewing the most popular Asian star on this planet like?

You know people often tell me: “You know all your guests personally and that’s why they open up on your show.” But actually there are many guests I have never met prior to our interview. And certainly not Jackie. And yet when you see the show, you will see how easily the conversation flowed. He was wonderful, didn’t hide anything, didn’t evade any questions.

He wasn’t image-conscious — as stars often are — and he gave me even more than I could have asked for. He revealed things that aren’t even there in his biography! At the end, he told me how comfortable he was and that it was like a conversation not an interview. He said: “I speak everything the truth.” Graciously, he was the one who knelt and thanked me. Then he kissed me and sent kisses to all our viewers.

How would you rate the Jackie Chan Rendezvous?

Well, I’d say it is definitely one of the best. My crew thinks it is the best!

Excerpts of Chanspeak to be aired on STAR World on Sunday, Sept 3, 9.30 pm

Simi: Tell me Jackie, is Hollywood the ultimate goal for an actor?

Jackie: I think yes, because it’s the biggest market in the world. Hollywood seems the place to be. No matter you are Indian, you are Chinese... Sometime I ask myself why. Why Hollywood? Why Oscar? Why? You have your own Oscar, we have our own. Nobody care. But why Oscar everybody care? It’s Hollywood, it seems like a place to be but everybody want to get into Hollywood, even myself. I tried to get into Hollywood… So difficult.

Simi: What about your son Jaycee?

Jackie: He’s now 23 years old.

Simi: Did you spend time with him when he was growing up?

Jackie: Not really. If you’re talking about family life, yes, I lost a lot of his childhood. But in business way, I’m success. You have to choose. I don’t think I could send him to school, pick up from his school… I think he’s really appreciating what I’m doing and he really understand. Even my wife. She knows my personality. She support me, even my son support me.

But the most important is beside that, the whole world, Jackie Chan fans, in the Internet they really teach me a lot of things. They like the movie, they don’t like the movie. They don’t like too violent. Ok, I change. I learn so many things from the fans, really.

Simi: Jackie Chan is obsessed with his work?

Jackie: Because I am very lucky becoming a Jackie Chan.