‘Anil Kapoor goes crazy when he hears Madhuri Dixit’s name,’ says Indra Kumar

Indra Kumar then went to Khandala with his writer Praful Parekh and his assistant and rewrote the first half without changing the second half of the film. He shared, “Ashok ji came two days later. He had come with the intention to simply tear the newly written script. After all, it was insane to think to reshoot the entire first half as back in those days, it used to take about 35-40 days to shoot films. Yet, he was like ‘Fine, narrate it.’ And I did. Once I completed my narration, he was astounded. He was like, ‘This is your first half?'”

With Indra Kumar’s co-producer Ashok Thakeria being convinced with the new script, now the challenge was who will let Anil Kapoor know about the changes. “It was not just the reshoot of the film, but the new script was a bit inclined towards Madhuri’s role. Somehow, I gained the courage and went to him (Kapoor) and narrated him the script. He listened to me quietly. After the narration, he told me, ‘Can I tell you something? Tu ne meri band baja di.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean? Isn’t the script nice?’ He was like, ‘It is extremely nice, but now people will title this film Beti, not Beta. You have completely spinned the film. But yes, now your film will be a blockbuster hit.'”

Kumar praised Anil Kapoor’s confidence and said, “Anil said, ‘My only concern is to make your film a superhit.’ That was the kind of confidence he carried. If it was any other actor, I can guarantee you, they wouldn’t have let me reshoot the film with Madhuri’s beefed up role.”

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While the film was a superhit, so were its songs. Among the many tracks in the film, “Dhak Dhak Karne Laga” found many takers, with many still playing it during parties.

Speaking about the song’s success, the filmmaker said, “I did nothing, but enjoyed watching Madhuri dance before me. I can take no credit. Anand Milind was my music director. He was the one who composed it, and I loved it. Anuradha Podwal and Udit Narayan sung it terrifically. Saroj Khan was my choreographer, she crafted the looks of the song. It was out of my imagination. My camera man was Baba Azmi. The way he lit up the set and the kind of clothes he gave to my leads, it enhanced the song. And Madhuri’s dancing skills were impeccable. Anil was terrific. I just had fun on set, watching Madhuri dance.”

In the same interview, Indra Kumar also shared details about the bond between the film’s stars Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.

He said, “Anil and Madhuri are great friends. They share a completely different chemistry. They respected each other so much. Anil was extremely caring towards Madhuri. He would always pump her up. More than a co-star, he was like a giver to her. Till date, Anil goes crazy when he hears Madhuri’s name. Puch ke dekhlena kabhi.”

Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit have starred in several films together including Ram Lakhan, Tezaab, Khel, and Jamai Raja, among others.