Girlfriend (2004) completed 22 years on June 11 and is remembered as a rare Hindi film at the time that dealt with homosexuality. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, conducted around the film’s 20th anniversary in July 2024, writer-director Karan Razdan spoke about the film and much more.
How did you get the idea to make Girlfriend? It was a bold topic for that time…
I was involved with somebody. This was after my wife, Priya Tendulkar, had passed away. Suddenly, a friend of hers entered the scene. She used to work for her channel. I realized that she was very jealous of my relationship with my partner. That’s where I got the idea. Also, when you are a writer, you tend to look at life to give you stories. A couple of my friends were homosexual and I started wondering – was this friend of my partner a lesbian? Was that why she was so insanely jealous of our relationship and trying to break it?
Were Isha Koppikar and Amrita Arora the original choices?
Mallika Sherawat wanted to do Isha Koppikar’s role. But Isha was already cast. So was Amrita. I had sent a text to Raima Sen as well since I knew her and Riya. It was I who had helped Riya bag the role in Qayamat (2003). Through her, I knew Raima. But she was shooting and read my SMS late. By then, the casting director recommended Amrita and I found her apt.
The problem arose when somebody informed Mallika Sherawat that a film like this is being made and that I did consider her! She came to meet me and I had to narrate the story. She started showing how she’d play the part and how she’ll perform in certain scenes! She was quite excited to come on board. In the evening, Isha Koppikar called me. She told me, ‘I heard you met Mallika Sherawat. I’ll commit suicide if you (give my role to her) because this is a life-changing character’! Thankfully, Mallika’s dates didn’t match and Isha could do the film. And she was superb.
And what about Ashish Chowdhry?
Sanjay Suri was offered the part. But he felt that the role wasn’t plum enough. Dino Morea wanted to work with me and I narrated the story to him in Lonavala, where he was shooting. But it didn’t work out with him either. Then we signed Ashish. We had launched him in Qayamat.
How was it shooting the film?
It is the fastest film that can ever be made. On February 17 or 18, 2004, it went on floors. And on June 11 the same year, it was released! So, it took less than four months. Harman Baweja also had a big contribution. He would cut promos and show it to me. By then, Harry Baweja and I had worked on four films – Dilwale (1994), Diljale (1996), Deewane (2000) and Qayamat. He had directed these films and I wrote them, while Girlfriend was directed and written by me and he produced it. Since this was our fifth film, the Bawejas and I were in perfect coordination. Hence, the experience was smooth.
More Pages: Girlfriend Box Office Collection , Girlfriend Movie Review
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2026 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.