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Actor Anup Soni, a graduate of the National School of Drama (NSD), began his film career with the critically acclaimed 1999 film Godmother. Directed by Vinay Shukla and inspired by the life of Santokben Jadeja, the movie featured Shabana Azmi in the lead role. When Anup was offered the role of Milind Gunaji’s brother, he immediately seized the opportunity. Soon after, he signed his second project, Fiza, starring Hrithik Roshan and Karisma Kapoor in pivotal roles. The film was shot around the time Hrithik made his debut with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, and Anup witnessed firsthand the transformation that followed Hrithik’s meteoric rise to stardom.
“Hrithik shot the first half of Fiza before the release of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, and the second half after it became a blockbuster,” Anup recalled. “The difference in how he was treated on set was remarkable. Earlier, both of us would get our makeup done sitting on the bonnet of a car. After Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai released, he got his own vanity van and was treated like a star. Of course, he always had his makeup man, but now he had a full setup of his own.”
Talking about how he landed Fiza, Anup shared an interesting backstory.
“My debut film Godmother won six National Awards, and it was widely appreciated. Film critic and journalist Khalid Mohammed, who made his directorial debut with Fiza, had seen my performance and liked my work. He approached me for a role in his film. Initially, I wasn’t convinced, but he insisted, so I eventually agreed,” he said.
While Anup Soni’s role in Fiza was brief, his experience on the set turned out to be quite unusual.
“The director later asked me to dub for another character in the same film,” he revealed. “I was shocked. I told him, ‘How can I dub for someone else when I already have a role in the movie?’ He said he would get my part dubbed by someone else as it was a smaller role. I refused and told him I would only agree if I got to dub my own lines first. If he liked it, fine, but I wouldn’t give up my voice for my own character. He agreed eventually.”
Anup added with a laugh, “If you watch Fiza today, you’ll actually hear my voice for two different characters!”
When asked which other character he dubbed for, the actor didn’t name him, though he said it was the man opposite Karisma Kapoor, a role played by Bikram Saluja. However, Anup did not confirm this.
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