EXCLUSIVE: Anees Bazmee reveals Feroz Khan had refused to play the role of RDX in Welcome

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By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

June 16, 2022 - 4:39 PM IST

Anees Bazmee's directorial Welcome is one of the most memorable films in his career and also one of the biggest hits. The film had a stunning ensemble cast including Akshay Kumar, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, and Katrina Kaif among others. Feroz Khan played the role of Ranvir Dhanraj Xaka aka RDX, an underworld gangster leader. However, Bazmee recently revealed that the senior actor had initially refused to play the role in Welcome.

EXCLUSIVE: Anees Bazmee reveals Feroz Khan had refused to play the role of RDX in Welcome

Talking to Bollywood Hungama about Feroz Khan, Anees Bazmee said, “Woh bahut masoom hai apne umar ke liye. Unhone bahut duniya dekhi hai. Hazaron logon se mile hai. Har cheez malum hai, phir bhi ek ajeeb masumiyat thi yeh bahut badi baat hai. I think jab mere saath kaam kar rahe the 70 saal ke honge, but jo ek masoomiyat thi unki, toh mai woh dekhta tha ki kitna innocent hai. Iss film ko wo karna bhi nahi chah rahe the,kyunki unki tabiyat thik nahi thi but mai bahut zidd kar raha tha ki nahi sir, aap hi honge aap hi honge. Bahut mushkil se unhone kaha tha ki thik hai. (He was very innocent for his age. He has seen so much of the world. He has met thousands of people and knows about everything. Still, he had a strange innocence and that was a great thing. I think when he worked with me, he was 65-70, but I used to admire his innocence. But he did not want to do the film because he was unwell but I insisted. He finally agreed with great difficulty).”

He further said,“Lekin jab mai chala gaya that apne shooting pe Dubai, mujhe achanak se phone aaya ki ‘nahi Anees mai kal shooting par nahi aaraha hu’. Aur waha poori duniya paunchi hui thi.Everybody was there and I was really tensed. Mai bola mai doosre kisiko lena nahi chahta, doosra koi kar nahi paayega ye role aur upar se achanak mana kar rahe hai. Maine bola kya hogaya toh unhone mujhe reason bataya. But maine kaha ki nahi sir mai raatko aa raha hu aapse milne ke liye aur aapko mai leke jaunga. (When I went to Dubai for shoot, he suddenly called and refused to come for shoot. And everyone was on set for the shoot. I told him that I do not want to cast anyone else and neither can anyone else do it. But I told him that I will visit him at night and will take him along with me).”

Anees further said that Feroz Khan had a soft corner for him following their multiple interactions. "Mera haqq bhi tha unpe ki aapko karna hi hai. Toh bole accha chalo mai aaunga. Lekin woh aaye waha and kabhi aisa ehsaas nahi hone diya ki meri tabiyta kharab hai ki nahi (I also had earned the right to tell him that he has to do it. He eventually agreed. During the shoot, he never once complained about anything). The director also said they shot at 50 degrees and Feroz Khan was wearing several layers for the climax scene but never expressed discomfort.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Anees Bazmee on his differences with Welcome producer Firoz Nadiadwala- “I believe in forgiving and moving on”