David Dhawan recalls struggling days with Anil Kapoor: “I took him on my scooter and helped him bag films”; shares hilarious Sanjay Dutt anecdote: “He would say, ‘I am out of jail for 6 months. Tu picture shuru kar de meri’”

The David Dhawan Film Festival is going on in PVR and to celebrate the legendary director, the multiplex chain organized a fireside chat. It involved David Dhawan talking about his life and films with his son, Varun Dhawan. Incidentally, both are also gearing up for the release of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. The comic caper will arrive in cinemas on June 5. David was his usual self and raised laughs while sharing anecdotes about Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt.

David said, “I used to go to labs to ask for work. I even met Boney Kapoor’s father, Mr Surinder Kapoor. He had an office at Famous Studios. I used to tell him, ‘Picture shuru karo toh mainu kaam de do yaar. Ki kar rahe ho yaar?’ (smiles)! Anil was also struggling. I had a scooter aur Anil ko maine picturein dilayi hai (laughs). He bagged Saawan Kumar ji’s film Laila (1984). Sunil Dutt sahab was also there. Laila was based on Mughal-E-Azam. Sawan ji saw Anil with his moustache and all. He told me, ‘Yeh Raj Kapoor jaisa dikhta hai’! He signed him for the film. Anil worked in another film in which he was the hero while I was the editor.”

Varun remarked, “In short, you guys went as a jodi. You’ll be like ‘Main edit karunga, yeh act karega’!”

David Dhawan then praised Sunil Dutt and his son, Sanjay Dutt, “Dutt sahab was a great man. He was always encouraging. Kabhi kabhi unko Sanju milta hi nahin tha. He used to ask me, ‘Tera dost kitthe hai’. I used to tell him, ‘He is busy shooting’. Sanju was mischievous but also lovable. Thanks to him, I got the break as a director. I was editing Mahesh Bhatt’s Naam (1986). He starred in the film and he used to drop by the editing room at Dimple. One day, he told me, ‘You edit so well. Don’t you want to be a director?’. I replied, ‘I want to, but who’ll give me a film’. He said, ‘Film mil gayi tere ko’. That’s it. He then said, ‘I have just signed a film and you’ll be hired as the director. Tomorrow, the producer will meet you’. The next day, the producer came and I got the film.”

The said film was Taaqatwar (1989). David raised laughs as he said, “He used to go inside the jail and then come out. He would tell me, ‘I am out for 6 months. Tu picture shuru kar de meri’.”

Also Read: David Dhawan REVEALS his REAL name; also admits, “Mithun Chakraborty ragged me at FTII. His nickname was ‘Rana Raze The Sexy Craze’”

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