Tiger Shroff

Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff (born 2 March 1990), is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language action films. The son of actor Jackie Shroff and producer Ayesha Dutt, he made his film debut with the 2014 action film Heropanti.

Shroff is best known for his commercially successful action films Baaghi (2016) and its sequel Baaghi 2, and War (2019). One of the highest paid actors in India, he has featured in Forbes India Celebrity 100 list since 2018.

Early life and background
Jai Hemant Shroff was born on 2 March 1990, to Indian film actor Jackie Shroff and his wife Ayesha Shroff (née Dutt). He is the elder of two siblings, and has a three-year younger sister named Krishna Shroff. Due to his experience in the martial arts, he has frequently spent time helping actors train for movies.

On his paternal side, he is of Gujarati and Turkmen ancestry and from his maternal side, he is of Bengali and Belgian descent. Shroff is a devout Hindu devotee of Lord Shiva and has attributed his physique to Lord Shiva. He holds a fast every Monday and during every Mahashivaratri festival. He studied at the American School of Bombay.

In 2014, he was awarded an honorary fifth degree black belt in Taekwondo.

Film career
In June 2012, Shroff was signed by producer Sajid Nadiadwala to make his film debut in Sabbir Khan's action romantic comedy Heropanti, produced under Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. In preparation for the role, he underwent flexibility training under Ziley Mawai. Released in 2014, Heropanti garnered unfavourable reactions from critics, but ultimately emerged as a minor commercial success with earnings of inr 726000000 worldwide. His performance in the film received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising dancing skills and ability to perform onerous stunts, but criticised his acting and dialogue delivery. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama appreciated his performance, saying "Tiger registers an impact in several sequences" and that he "scores brownie points in action and stunts". Adarsh also added that "for a first-timer, he exudes supreme confidence". Subhash K. Jha praised him for his versatility, saying that "he emotes, he dances and yes, he can fight". However, Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times disagreed, calling his "dialogues forced" and said "his expressions do nothing in a given situation". In spite of terming his performance "a little unconvincing", Kaushal called his action sequences "admirable" and said he's a "great dancer". Furthermore, Anupama Chopra, though noting that he has star-like qualities and "very solid screen presence", called his dialogue delivery "off". Shroff's portrayal fetched him the Screen Award for Best Male Debut and the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Male in addition to a Best Male Debut nomination at the 60th Filmfare Awards.

In 2016, Shroff reteamed with Nadiadwala and Sabbir Khan in the action thriller Baaghi, about a pair of rebellious lovers set against the backdrop of a martial arts school. The film, co-starring Shraddha Kapoor and Sudheer Babu, proved to be a critical and commercial success with worldwide grossings of inr 1260000000. Bollywood Hungama praised his action sequences, saying: "The action Tiger performed without use of double body is delight to see." Later that year, Shroff played a martial arts ordinary teacher who gains superpowers, in Remo D'Souza's superhero film A Flying Jatt, alongside Jacqueline Fernandez. Produced by Balaji Motion Pictures, the film received positive reviews but underperformed at the box office grossing inr 520000000 against a budget of inr 450000000. The following year, Shroff appeared opposite Nidhhi Agerwal in Sabbir Khan's dance film Munna Michael (2017). The film and his performance received negative attention and the film was a commercial disappointment grossing inr 310000000 in India.

In 2018, Shroff starred in the action thriller Baaghi 2, a sequel to Baaghi, though it narrated a different story and had two other new changes—Ahmed Khan as the director (replacing Sabbir Khan) and Disha Patani as the female lead (replacing Shraddha Kapoor). Produced once again by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, the film featured Shroff as an army officer. His performance and action sequences garnered him praise, and the film emerged as one of the top-grossing Bollywood films of the year with a lifetime gross of inr 2530000000 at the box office.

In 2019, Shroff appeared in Punit Malhotra's teen drama Student of the Year 2, his first mainstream romantic drama. Produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, it was the sequel to Student of the Year and saw Shroff portray a college student who competes in an annual school championship. Rajeev Masand of News18 called his performance "the film’s singular strength". Ronak Kotecha, from The Times of India, agreed by saying "Tiger Shroff pretty much carries the film on his well-toned shoulders". The film underperformed at the box office.

In October 2019, Shroff starred in Siddharth Anand's action thriller War alongside Hrithik Roshan. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year and ranks as Shroff's highest-grossing release as of February 2020.

In March 2020, he starred in the third instalment of the Baaghi (film series) titled Baaghi 3, where he reunited with Shraddha Kapoor. It underperformed commercially as theatres were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2020, he launched his music video "Unbelievable", debuting as singer. The video was directed by Punit Malhotra and music was produced by Big Bang Music and Dharma 2.0. Anvita Singh of Indian Express described the song as lackluster, noting Shroff's "heavily auto-tuned" vocals.

Other work
In 2017, Shroff was brought in as Brand Ambassador and co-owner of Bengaluru Tigers, which is owned by 8K Miles Media Group. The Bengaluru Tigers won 3rd place in his inaugural season of Super Fight League, the first mixed martial arts (MMA) League in India.In 2018, Shroff was also made the Brand Ambassador of Prowl.