The much-loved film, Yes Boss (1997), completed 25 years on July 18. Directed by Aziz Mirza, the film is memorable due to its premise, performances, super-hit music and also because it marked the debut of Kashmera Shah in films. As the film celebrated its 25th anniversary, Bollywood Hungama decided to speak to Kashmera Shah about the film and a lot more. The vivacious actress, who still looks as glamorous and hot as she did in 1997, was more than happy to go down memory lane.
Did you remember Yes Boss is completing 25 years?
Yes. I remembered the date very clearly and I even remember the shoot as well. This was my first film, which I signed and which was released. Hence, 100% I remember it. What a way to enter the industry! One could not have asked for a better introduction.
How did you bag the role?
There was an audition. Niki Walia was already doing this film. She fell ill and hence, had to step down. Meanwhile, I had gone to audition for Kumar Sanu’s music video on a Wednesday. The guy who saw my pictures, Mr Vibhakar, told me, ‘Tum do mahine late aayi. Warna hum tumhe ek nayi film mein lene waale the’. So, I was pretty disappointed.
Meanwhile, I got a call on Sunday that I’d been selected. I assumed that I have bagged the music video. I asked, ‘Kab karna hai gaana?’. They told me, ‘Offer gaane ke liye nahi hai. Yeh ek Shah Rukh Khan ki film ke liye hai’. Before he could complete the sentence, I was in their office (laughs)!
I went to the office wearing high heels and a gold coloured tie-up top, similar to what I’ve worn in the film. Aziz saab was sitting there. I said, ‘Hello, I am Kashmera Shah’. To which he said, ‘Selected! This is the girl’! When I asked when is the shoot, I was told that it was taking place the next day. In short, on Wednesday, I auditioned and on Monday, I was shooting for Yes Boss at Filmalaya Studios.
You looked quite glamorous in the film. Could you tell us about your styling?
They wanted someone who is very glamorous and very stylish. The funny thing is that they didn’t know I was very young. I was 22 ½ years old then and they assumed my age must be 35 or 36. I kept it hidden from them as I was scared. This was a time when I was struggling to earn money and do a portfolio. My mother insisted I complete my education. 21 ki umar tak toh education hi karti rahi. However, I kept doing my modelling and struggled, and ultimately bagged Yes Boss. I didn’t want them to know my age. So, I’d dress up older and talk like someone who knew it all. 1 ½ years later, when we had gone to Switzerland to shoot is when they found out how old I was. By then, 70% of the film was shot (laughs)!
How was the shooting experience?
I had a fabulous time. I was very scared, as I was a Shah Rukh Khan fan. I was also scared of Aziz saab as well as he was a strict guy and also because unhone itne saare television shows banaye the. Unhone Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) banayi thi. I feared that they might replace me if I don’t do my job well. However, they put me at ease.
Which was the first scene that you shot for Yes Boss?
The first scene I shot was when Aditya Pancholi and I go to Shah Rukh and Juhi Chawla’s house and SRK offers me a rose. It was my first time in front of the camera. Before that, I used to model. So I never had dialogues. Shah Rukh sat down and rehearsed the scene 10 times with me, including the hand movements. That scene was okayed in just one take! He told me, ‘You’re good’. I swear to you, I still haven’t forgotten it. After Yes Boss, whenever I worked with reputed directors like Ram Gopal Varma, Mahesh Manjrekar, Raj Sippy etc, mujhe Shah Rukh ki baat hamesha yaad aati thi. Hence, I never lost my confidence. He made me realize that it’s so important to put your co-stars at ease.
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Your character Sheela disappeared in the latter part of Yes Boss…
Yes, and it was fine. The story takes off with Shah Rukh and Juhi’s love story. So, it doesn’t matter where I went. It’s a good film to be part of. Isse better koi introduction ho sakta tha? When I signed the film, maine story thodi suni thi. Aur story sunti toh bhi sign kar hi leti main (smiles). And mere kam scenes the lekin mere scenes koi bhool nahi sakta. The fact that we are talking about my role 25 years later speaks for itself. So, you have to stand out as an actor. Nawazuddin Siddiqui had just 1 scene in Sarfarosh (1998). He was there in Jungle (2000; it also starred Kashmera). Lekin aap unko bhool nahi sakte.
The first scene I shot for Yes Boss is when I met Juhi Chawa. The shoot of that sequence went on for 2 days. In between, Juhi asked me, ‘Which other films are you doing’? I burst out laughing. She asked, ‘What happened?’ To which I told her, ‘Yeh meri pehli film hai’! I also added, ‘Pata nahi iske baad kaam milega ya nahi as I don’t know how I am doing’. She also laughed and was like, ‘Nahi nahi, tum accha kar rahi ho. Kaam zaroor milega’. You know how Juhi is; she is very chirpy. So you see, how important it was to be a part of this film with such a great cast and crew. And it was backed by a production house like Venus.
Are you still in touch with Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla?
Meri himmat hi nahi thi in logon ka number lene ki (laughs)! On a serious note, I am not in touch but whenever they meet Krushna Abhishek on ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’, Shah Rukh and Juhi ask about me. Just 2 days ago, Krushna was telling me that Juhi always asks, ‘Kash kaisi hai?’ without fail.
Even today, when I meet Shah Rukh, I am in awe. Mere munh se kuch nikalta hi nahi hai. I still feel like a 22-year-old bubbly idiot in front of him. So I’ll be like, ‘Hi, How are you, all good’ aur fir main bhaag jaati hoon kyunki mujhe kuch samaj mein nahi aata ki uske saamne kya bolu. I still love him as a person!
More Pages: Yes Boss Box Office Collection
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