Auzaar (1997), starring Salman Khan, Sanjay Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty, completed 27 years on February 28. The action entertainer didn’t work at the box office but is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it marked the directorial debut of Salman’s brother Sohail Khan. Sohail later directed many more films and also got into production before venturing into acting. Secondly, not many are aware of how Salman Khan went out of his way for the sake of Sanjay and proved that he’s a man with a golden heart.
During the promotion of his first production Tevar (2015), Sanjay Kapoor told Bombay Times that several actors had turned down the negative role of Yash in Auzaar. Hence, when Sanjay accepted the part, Salman Khan and Sohail were quite touched.
Sanjay Kapoor revealed, “I was a hot newcomer and despite it being a negative role, I agreed to do it at once when Sohail called me. Many actors had said No. Salman was a superstar by this time and I don't know if Salman would remember this, but over a drink, he said to me at Piano Bar, 'When you become a producer, I will do your film.' They are a great family that way.”
And that’s not all. By the time Auzaar was released, Salman Khan’s popularity had zoomed. Sanjay Kapoor, meanwhile, had a blockbuster in the form of Raja (1995) but the rest of his films like Prem (1995), Kartavya (1995) and Beqabu (1996) flopped. Sanjay Kapoor said in an interview with DNA in January 2014, “When Salman and I started, we were on par, but by the time Auzaar released, Judwaa and his other films had become blockbusters and my Kartavya hadn’t done well.”
This led the producers of Auzaar – Tips Industries – to highlight Salman Khan more than Sanjay Kapoor on the posters. This move didn’t go down well with Salman and Sohail Khan. Sanjay Kapoor told Bombay Times, “When the hoardings of Auzaar came up, it had a big Salman's picture and a small picture of mine, even though I had a better role. He called up our producer and said, 'If you want to have this kind of publicity, then don't put my name also. Sanjay stood by us.' Salman made sure that my picture was more than his only and not less. That is how Salman is.”
Sanjay Kapoor then said that he wished to become a producer at that very point and make a film with Salman Khan, hoping that the latter would keep his word. Sanjay remarked that ‘to his bad luck’ some of his films like Sirf Tum (1999) and Chhupa Rustam (2001) were hits, due to which he kept his production plans on hold.
Sanjay said, “I thought to myself that I would make a film with Salman and through Arbaaz, who was very close to me, I met Salim sahab (Salim Khan), who said yes. But to my bad luck, my films Sirf Tum and Chhupa Rustam did well and thus, I kept looking out for acting assignments.”
Sanjay Kapoor also believed that it was due to him that Salman Khan agreed to work in brother Boney Kapoor’s blockbuster, No Entry (2005), “In the meantime, Boney was making No Entry and Salman, without even reading the script, said a yes, I felt because of me, and that is how Salman came into Boney's life.”
Sanjay Kapoor finally turned producer with Tevar, starring Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha. Although it didn’t star Salman Khan, Sanjay pointed out in the DNA interview that it had a connection with the superstar, “I guess that wasn’t the right time (to get into production) then and today it’s right because I am making a film with Arjun who is Salman’s protégé. So, if it’s not Salman, it has some connection to him. Maybe sometime in the future, I will also do a film with Salman.”
Although Tevar didn’t star Salman, it had a song with the lyrics, ‘Main Superman, Salman Ka Fan.’
More Pages: Auzaar Box Office Collection
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