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‘Dharmendra cried, hid face so no one could see’: Jugal Hansraj recalls biggest fan of Masoom, reveals why he turned down Shekhar Kapur’s film

Jugal Hansraj also recalled how Dharmendra was so impressed by his performance in Masoom that he went on to cast him as his on-screen son in several of his subsequent films.

4 min readMumbaiOct 31, 2025 01:13 PM IST

Jugal Hansraj made his debut as a child actor in Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom.

Jugal Hansraj, who is still fondly remembered for Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein, actually began his journey in cinema as a child actor in Shekhar Kapur’s seminal film Masoom. The movie, co-starring Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, featured Jugal as the young Rahul Malhotra, a role that won him immense love and recognition. However, few know that Jugal initially rejected the film when it was first offered to him. In a recent conversation with Radio Nasha Official, the actor opened up about his hesitation and how the film’s team eventually convinced him to take it on.

Jugal Hansraj initially refused Masoom

“My first reaction to the film was that this character is continually crying. Puri film mein roo raha hai. All my friends will call me as a cry baby. They will tease me, so I made up my mind that I don’t want to do it. But then he really worked hard at convincing me. He used to come to our house, meet my parents, used to play cricket and board games with me. And slowly we became friends. And then he took me to a recording of the song ‘Huzur Is Kadar’, and it was really fun. Pancham Da (RD Burman) was so sweet to me, gave me so much love, and allowed me to play with his instruments. I was very impressed and it hit me, if this is filmmaking, then I’m in for a ride. So perhaps I did the film because of Pancham Da. Then I only asked Shekhar, when are we starting?”

Shekhar Kapur fired Masoom choreographer during ‘Lakdi ki Kathi’

Another cherished memory from Masoom for Jugal is the iconic children’s song ‘Lakdi Ki Kaathi’. He also spoke about how that song sequence came to life: “Some choreographer had come to Delhi in that house where we were shooting for the song and he was teaching us some steps. Shekhar wasn’t happy with that as he felt we were kids and we don’t need to dance in such synchronised steps. So he made the choreographer run away. And he himself taught us, and thus made the producer worry a lot about how will Shekhar do it. But he said these are kids, let them run and jump around and I’ll shoot accordingly. So he shot it himself.”

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Dharmendra cried for the first time after watching Masoom

Masoom remains one of the most beloved films in Indian cinema, admired for its emotional depth and simplicity. Among its biggest admirers was superstar Dharmendra, who was deeply moved by Jugal’s performance in the film. Recalling that touching gesture, Jugal shared: “He had actually sent a message at home, and later called and told to my father that he cried for the first time after watching a film. To hide his tough on-screen persona he always used to cover his face with something before shedding tears. And he even said that if in future there is a good role about his on-screen son or something, he’ll only call on Jugal. He also told my father don’t worry much and said he would take care of me. My father immediately said that what about his school, so he assured my father that he will only call me for something during summer vacations.” The young actor’s connection with Dharmendra went on to become a memorable chapter of his childhood. “After that I spent the next four-five summer vacations with Dharam ji, in Ooty, Nainital, Kashmir, so I was shooting with him throughout.”

Jugal Hansraj was last seen in Nadaniyaan.

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