30 Years of Khalnayak: Subhash Ghai raises laughs at the premiere: “Sanjay Dutt was confident that ‘Yeh picture bahut chalegi’. Jab yeh baat woh bolta tha, tab woh Madhuri Dixit ki taraf dekhta tha”

By Fenil Seta -

September 5, 2023 - 5:00 PM IST

Radio Nasha held a special screening of Khalnayak (1993) as it celebrated its 30th anniversary on August 6. The screening was held on September 4 at Mumbai’s Inox multiplex in Inorbit Mall, Malad and was graced by the film’s team, comprising Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Ali Asgar, Anand Balraj, director Subhash Ghai, singers Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun, art director Bijon Das Gupta, dialogue writer Kamlesh Pandey and costume designer Neeta Lulla. They entertained the media with their bytes on the radio carpet to RJ Divya Solgama. Inside the auditorium, they spoke to RJ Rohini about the film and a lot more.

30 Years of Khalnayak: Subhash Ghai raises laughs at the premiere: “Sanjay Dutt was confident that ‘Yeh picture bahut chalegi’. Jab yeh baat woh bolta tha, tab woh Madhuri Dixit ki taraf dekhta tha”

Subhash Ghai began by saying, “Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) always had confidence, even more than me. Director toh hamesha nervous rehta hai. But he would always maintain that ‘Yeh picture bahut chalegi’. Jab yeh baat woh bolta tha, tab woh Madhuri Dixit ki taraf dekhta tha! That made me believe that Khalnayak indeed would run successfully. And it did run. I never imagined that 30 years, it’ll still be talked about.”

He also credited the film’s chartbuster songs, composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, “1 crore cassettes of Khalnayak were sold in just 1 week!” He then jokingly looked at Ramesh Taurani of Tips and said, “Lekin uska aaj tak paisa nahin diya inhone!”

Subhash then mentioned the departed souls, “I’d like to remember two members who are not with us anymore, Anand Bakshi. Dusri mere gaano ki jaan thi, Saroj Khan. I called Anand Bakshi’s son Rakesh and daughter Suman, especially to the premiere.”

Sanjay Dutt then revealed, “When I used to turn from the right side, Subhash ji used to tell me, ‘Tu ulta ghoom’. Unlike the present day, we used to not question our directors. Tab director ki bahut izzat hoti thi! So, if Subhash ji asked me to turn from the left, I did it dedicatedly. And that turn became an iconic part of Ballu (smiles).”

Jackie Shroff came next and his bindaas statement got a roaring response. When asked about his memories, he replied, “Mic pakda ke aise aise question puchte hai. Kal kya hua, mereko yaad nahin bhidu!” He ultimately did answer the query, “Sanju baba has been my friend even before the film. Bahut pyaar hai lekin sab andar hai. Dikhane ka zarurat nahin!”

He raised laughs as he narrated, “When Sanju and I used to work together, we’d tell each other, ‘Mereko line yaad nahin hai. Tu bol de’. Subhash ji would be like, ‘Director main hoon. Tum log kya decide kar rahe ho ki line kaun bolega’!”

Jackie Shroff then praised both Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun for their wonderful singing in ‘Choli Ke Peeche’. He then revealed about the ‘bandar fight’ between him and Sanjay Dutt in Khalnayak, in which both were placed on a tree.

Jackie Shroff said, ‘Ped bhi ekdum chikna tha. One single hook was fixed on both of us. Imagine we both didn’t even decline to shoot. Apne paas na bolne ka power bhi nahin tha. Neither did any insurance company cover us.”

Subhash Ghai then spoke highly of Sanjay Dutt, “I was amazed with Sanju’s dedication. He would tell me, ‘Please let me go at 6:30 pm since I have to go to the gym’. At 7:30 pm, he would be back. I asked him ‘Kya hua?’. He’d reply, ‘Woh scene complete karte hai na!’ And then he would shoot till 2:00 am. I narrate this episode to every actor that if you don’t give your full dedication, it will reflect on the screen. This is why Khalnayak has become an iconic character.”

As for Jackie Shroff, he said, “He is the permanent Ram in Mukta Arts. Jab bhi humko Ram nahin milta, hum isko yaad karte hai! As an obedient son or brother, he would come, no matter how small the role is.”

Jackie, who was launched by Subhash Ghai in Hero (1983), simply said, “Bhidu, koi upkar nahin kar rela hoon. Paida karne waala baba (Subhash Ghai) hi hai. Baaki sab mere bacche hai. Main inka baccha hoon!”

Subhash Ghai then spoke about the singers. He remarked, “Whenever Alka ji sang a song for us, she won an award for sure!” Alka Yagnik too praised the Showman, “The usage of words like ‘din dadang’ in the song 'Palkhi Pe Hoke Sawar' is all Subhash ji’s contribution. It added to the fun.”

The mention of the controversial song had to be there. She joked, “In ‘Choli Ke Peeche’, I sang all the innocent lines, saari inki (Ila Arun) galti hai!” Ila Arun put to blame on the director, “Subhash ji told me that ‘Tum se jitna bhi aah or oohh ho sakta hai, tum karna’.” She also credited Neena Gupta and said “She did perfect justice to it.”

Both Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun broke into an impromptu performance of ‘Choli Ke Peeche’ and it became the highlight of the evening. Ila Arun surprised one and all as she said, “The clothes I wore in the premiere, I am wearing today!”

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Subhash Ghai then talked about Sanjay Dutt’s chequered suit in the title song of Khalnayak, “The dress became iconic. Har market mein bika yeh dress. The credit goes to Neeta Lulla. She would study and discuss and then would get the design. Aise hi koi Neeta Lulla nahin ban jaata!”

Neeta Lulla was given the mic to talk and she narrated, “Subhash ji is my guru. Then, only star sisters and mothers used to make clothes. And one day, I was told that he wanted to meet him. I was shaking during the meeting. He told me that for the title song, he needed a dress. This was a time when the directors would not tell you that scene kya hai, sequence kya hai. He just told me that it has Ramya Krishna dancing with Sanjay Dutt.”

Neeta Lulla continued, “I asked him, ‘If you don’t mind, can I hear the song?’. There was a 2-minute silence. He said, ‘Tumko kya zaroorat hai gaana sunne ki?’. I explained, ‘Without the song, I won’t be able to visualize’. He said, ‘You visualize, make the dress and get it the day after tomorrow’. I again insisted on listening to the song. He realized why I was asking about the song. He finally made me hear the track. While listening to it, I was sketching. I was done when the song finished playing. He looked at my sketch and said, ‘Brilliant. This is exactly what I want’!”

Rakesh Bakshi, Anand Bakshi’s son, was one of the last ones to talk. He opened up with an anecdote, “A few months after Bakshi saab died, I opened his wallet. It’s a personal thing for anybody. I found a hundred rupee note inside. I had worked with Subhash ji as an assistant. So, I recognized his signature. The song of Meri Jung (1985) was also written across it. Then I found out that when dad wrote the song, Subhash ji loved it so much that he opened his wallet, wrote the song on the hundred-rupee note, signed it and gave it to my dad. My dad had earned lakhs of rupees before that. Yet, this hundred-rupee note was so precious to him that he kept it in his wallet till his last breath.”

Finally, all the team members were felicitated. The fashion students of Subhash Ghai’s school, Whistling Woods International, gave a special scarf to Sanjay Dutt. Lastly, the filmmaker said, “I’d like to thank the RJ Rohini and the whole team of Radio Nasha for celebrating Khalnayak. You all have compelled me to think about the future of this series!”

Also Read: 30 Years of Khalnayak premiere: Sanjay Dutt opens up on wearing ghagra choli for the male version of ‘Choli Ke Peeche’; also says, “Unlike the present day, we used not question our directors. Tab director ki bahut izzat hoti thi”