The romcom-cum-social entertainer, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000), completed 23 years on January 21. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, it was the first production of these actors along with director Aziz Mirza. A lot was expected from it but sadly, it failed. Interestingly, it talked about the commercialization of media, TRP wars etc. 23 years ago, audiences couldn’t connect to it. But watching Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani in 2023 is a different experience altogether as whatever it showed about media has proven to be true. Hence, in the truest sense, it was a film ahead of its time.
On Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’s 23rd anniversary, Manoj Lalwani, who wrote the story and screenplay of the film, speaks exclusively to Bollywood Hungama about the film, its box office failure and a lot more.
How was Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani conceived?
This was Shah Rukh Khan’s first production, under Dreamz Unlimited. He always wanted to do something different. Everyone agreed with this notion and was ready to do a film, which won’t be a typical love story. The idea was locked.
Even in those days, there was rivalry among news channels, sting operations etc. But people didn’t know about it. Honestly, even we didn’t have much idea (laughs)! But humne imagine kiya ki shayad aisa hi hota hoga…that visuals of floods shown in the news might be shot in a studio and not in an actual location in Bihar, or that a hidden camera can be used to expose a politician. While doing so, we kept the tone satirical and didn’t make it serious.
No, I didn’t write it. We had a brief. We used to work in a group – me, Aziz Mirza, Sanjay Chhel and Raaj Kumar Dahima. Even Shah Rukh used to be involved. The title song explains that hum log aise bhi hai, waise bhi hai, tedhe bhi hai. Lekin overall hum acche hai aur dil hai Hindustani. Javed Akhtar saab had written it in a humourous form. Farah Khan was the choreographer and she always comes with the vision. That’s how it all worked out.
In the song ‘Kuch Toh Bata’, Shah Rukh Khan was seen wearing a red towel. Was it easy to convince him to do so?
Yes. Shah Rukh is very cool. So, there’s no problem (laughs)! Unko convince karne ki zaroorat hi nahin. Woh khud bolenge, ‘Chalo main karta hoon’. He’s quite excited when he’s on the sets. He’ll do anything that’ll help him connect with the audience. The way he performs and gives such an energetic performance, there’s no way you can’t like him.
Paresh Rawal’s character was named Mohan Joshi and I guess it was a tribute to the film, Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984)…
Yes. That film was made by Aziz’s brother Saeed Akhtar Mirza. Also, Mohan Joshi represents the common man. That’s why we decided to go for this name for Paresh Rawal’s character.
The climax gives goosebumps. And it came much before Rang De Basanti (2006), which also showed citizens coming out on the streets for a common good…
Yes. There were a lot of firsts in the film and sadly it didn’t get its due
Yes, it’s sad that the film was a flop at the box office…
It was a huge setback for the whole team. It was Shah Rukh’s production and people were waiting to see ki yeh log kya bana rahe hai.
Why do you think it didn’t work?
The audience probably couldn’t connect to it. Now, people talk about it on Twitter. It’s shown every year on television on Republic Day and Independence Day. After a few years, it got a fine response on TV and later on digital. Sadly, in cinemas, it didn’t get its due.
People didn’t understand media wars aur TRP kya hota hai. Now it’s a common term and also people know that news channels logon ko debate pe bitha dete hai aur jagde karwa dete hai. It’s all done for TRP.
Nevertheless, it was a genuine attempt from all of us, to not just entertain the audiences but also make an important point. In fact, Sitaram Yechury of CPI wrote a two-page article after watching Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. He praised the film a lot, saying that it depicts the time we are living in and the time that will come in future. The audience overall liked it. But the mass audiences need entertainment. Unko koi koi cheezein samaj mein nahin aayi. They expected a romantic film since it starred Shah Rukh. But if you see, Shah Rukh has always tried new stuff with his productions, within the framework of commercial cinema though. After Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, he made Asoka (2001). He also made Paheli (2005).
People found the first half quite entertaining as it had a lot of commercial and masala elements. But in the second half, the film got serious, which was as per the script’s requirement. People complained that yeh film shuru se end tak entertaining rehni chahiye thi.
I guess this happens and we have no choice but to move on. And we were not the only ones. A lot of filmmakers have faced it. Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) is a prime example. Andaz Apna Apna (1994) didn’t work shockingly. Its humour was loud, its characters were so interesting and even today, people quote its dialogues. I guess, every film has its own destiny.
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani had a grand and star-studded premiere…
Yes. It was held at New Empire cinema, Mumbai. It was one of the rare occasions where the whole industry had come down. There was also band baaja et al. It was a big thing for all of us. The film had got so much publicity.
It’ll be interesting to see Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’s remake as in today’s times, it’ll be much more relatable…
If a remake is made, it’ll be quite different. Media wars have taken a different shape. There’s a lot of material that one can play with. Also, social media aur trolling aur pata nahin kya kya ho raha hai aaj kal and that can also be incorporated.
More Pages: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani Box Office Collection
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