22 Years of Hera Pheri EXCLUSIVE: “It was two years after the release of the film that Paresh Rawal confessed that Baburao Ganpatrao Apte was inspired by me” – Rajat Dholakia

By Fenil Seta -

March 31, 2022 - 11:30 AM IST

22 years ago, Hera Pheri (2000) released on this day and it changed the idea of a comedy film in Bollywood. The Priyadarshan directed film starred Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal and became an unforgettable classic thanks to the plot, writing and of course the crazy characters. The character of Baburao Ganpatrao Apte, played by Paresh Rawal, emerged as one of the most iconic characters in Indian cinema.

22 Years of Hera Pheri EXCLUSIVE: “It was two years after the release of the film that Paresh Rawal confessed that Baburao Ganpatrao Apte was inspired by me” – Rajat Dholakia

In July 2021, Bollywood Hungama exclusively revealed very fascinating trivia about the film that Baburao Ganpatrao Apte based on Rajat Dholakia, a popular composer of films, theatre and ads. Actor Snehal Daabbi shared this rare trivia during a Bollywood Hungama exclusive interview in June 2021. He had written the film along with Neeraj Vora and played the funny ‘Raapchik maal’ character.

On Hera Pheri’s 22nd anniversary, Bollywood Hungama decided to talk to Rajat Dholakia about Hera Pheri and, how he feels that he served as an inspiration for one of the most loved characters of all time. He said, “Writer Neeraj Vora had written the script of Hera Pheri. He, Paresh Rawal and others were discussing and they wanted to give certain traits to the character of Baburao. Suddenly, they thought of me. They decided that my mannerisms and look and the way I roam around in the house in a ganjee would be apt for the portrayal of Baburao.”

Rajat Dholakia continued, “I have a way of reacting to things. So they incorporated that. Also, at that time, I used to wear very thick glasses. Baburao also does the same. Iss tarah se Paresh Rawal ne Baburao ke character ko khada kiya.”

While both Hera Pheri and Baburao Ganpatrao Apte became a rage, Rajat Dholakia had no idea about it at all. He stated, “I didn’t know. It was only two years after the release of the film that Paresh Rawal confessed that Baburao Ganpatrao Apte was inspired by me!”

When asked if he had any suspicion that Baburao is just like him when he saw Hera Pheri, Rajat Dholakia replied, “I was quite occupied during the release with advertisements. Hence, I never got the chance to see the film. And I was out of touch with them (Neeraj Vora, Paresh Rawal, etc) as I was inundated with work. I used to leave my house at 9:00 am and return at 2:00 am. This is how I functioned for 5-6 years at that time. As a result, watching movies and social interactions had drastically reduced for me then.”

So has Rajat met Hera Pheri’s leading heroes, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty? To which he said, “No. This is because I was never in the commercial Bollywood zone. I have mainly done arthouse films like Dharavi (1992), Mirch Masala (1987), Maya Memsaab (1993) etc.”

Rajat Dholakia then spoke about his association with Neeraj Vora and Paresh Rawal. He said, “We all go back a long way. Paresh and I worked together on the play, Khelaiya. Neeraj Vora helped us in this play.” He added, “Neeraj was an amazing scriptwriter. When it comes to comedy, no one could beat him. We all miss this guy. All of a sudden, he suffered from a brain hemorrhage.”

Rajat Dholakia further said, “When Neeraj was hospitalized in AIIMS, Delhi, the doctors had predicted that he won’t even survive one more day. However, he survived. He was airlifted and brought to Mumbai. Firoz Nadiadwala (producer of Hera Pheri) converted a room in his bungalow into an ICU for him. To activate his brain, we installed a 5.1 sound system in that room and ‘mahamrityunjay’ and other such shlokas would be played regularly. Soli Kapadia, a singer, is also a sound therapist. He used to visit him 4 days a week. Bela Bhansali is a healer and she practiced a healing technique called Sukyo Mahikari. Spiritual doctors also paid a visit. Sadly, he couldn’t be revived and he passed away.” Neeraj Vora breathed his last on December 14, 2017.

Rajat Dholakia also revealed that Neeraj Vora played a huge role in the success of Hera Pheri, “Priyadarshan had directed this film. However, Neeraj Vora re-edited it and made it funnier. Initially, the film was quite long. There were many emotional moments then, as Priyadarshan had edited it differently. Firoz Nadiadwala realized that the film was dragging and Priyadarshan was not ready to change the edit. Hence, Firoz bhai asked Neeraj Vora to add his touch. This is what Firoz bhai told me.”

Rajat Dholakia is the son of the prolific veteran composer, Dilip Dholakia. He composed music and background score for several films like Holi (1988), Mirch Masala, Dharavi, Firaaq (2009), Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996) etc and also worked in the music of films like Parinda (1989) and 1942 A Love Story (1994). He won the National Award twice in the Best Music category for Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi and Pankaj Advani’s Sunday (1993).

Some of the memorable ads over the years have also had a Rajat Dholakia connection. For instance, ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ and ‘Yeh Pyaas Hai Badi’ (Pepsi), ‘Thanda Matlab’ (Coca-Cola), ‘Karlo Duniya Mutthi Mein’ (Reliance), ‘Aaya Mausam Thande Thande’ (Dermi Cool) and ‘Oonchi Log Oonchi Pasand’ (Manikchand) etc. are some of the jingles composed by Rajat Dholakia

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Meet Rajat Dholakia, the man who inspired Hera Pheri’s ICONIC character Baburao Ganpatrao Apte