Bollywood's macho man Jackie Shroff is celebrating India's 54th independence in a unique way by leading the annual India Day parade in New York.

According to the reports Jackie, who is currently in the limelight among the NRIs in the US for essaying the role of a father of three daughters in Subhash Ghai's Yaadein, will play Grand Marshal at the parade, which is slated to be held on August 19. A host of celebrities from the Indian entertainment world, former cricketers, NRIs and members of Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) will join Jackie in the parade. Besides some New York state officials are also expected to attend the event.

The parade is an annual event in New York and held to mark the India's freedom from British rule. However, this year a change has been made in the parade.

FIA and officials of Indian Consulate (NY) garland Mahatma Gandhi's statuette at the Union Square Park a day before the parade. This year, however the ceremony has been skipped owing to the ongoing municipal work in the area, making access to the statuette difficult.