Jackie Shroff is presently gushing about working in Tanuja Chandra's "Runway". And the director too is echoing similar emotions as she reveals that she specifically wanted him for the role.

For Jackie, it is the prospect of working with Chandra that is exciting, a chance he claims he missed four times earlier due to lack of dates.

"When she approached me, my dates were committed to other projects but now it seems just the right time," Jackie said.

Said Chandra: "He has this strong penchant for roles that are tragedy-driven with a lot of pathos. I specifically wanted him for this particular role."

In the film, Jackie plays a school crafts teacher, a silent admirer of the protagonist, Resham. The emotionally intense film is based on the true story of a woman called Resham, who stayed on the Gujarat border and braved the 1977 war.