Naseeruddin Shah reveals Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro sequel was written, actors like Irrfan, Manoj Bajpayee, Vijay Raaz were considered

Naseeruddin Shah recently revealed that the Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro sequel had been written by director Kundan Shah, but the film wasn't made for a variety of reasons.

Ravi Baswani, Naseeruddin Shah and Bhakti Barve in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. (Express archive photo)

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Kundan Shah’s 1983 film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was not a commercial hit at the time of its release, but over the years, it has come to be regarded as a cult classic. The film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve and Neena Gupta in pivotal roles. Naseer revealed in a recent interview that Kundan Shah even wrote the script for a sequel, but it was never made for a variety of reasons.

Naseeruddin revealed that he wasn’t impressed with Kundan Shah‘s script for the sequel, but he admitted that he found the original’s script to be “silly” as well. “It wasn’t the same thing, but neither did I find the script of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro funny at that time, I found it to be silly,” the actor told The Quint, agreeing that it would be difficult to make Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro today.

Also read | Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was 7-8 hours long, shown only in 4 theatres: Naseeruddin Shah called it the ‘stupidest’ film

Still, the filmmaker completed the script, but then, Ravi Baswani passed away. He essayed the role of a struggling photographer and Naseeruddin’s friend in the movie. Upon his death, Naseeruddin felt that the Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro sequel cannot possibly be made without him. “I was insistent that this film cannot be made without Ravi, he was the first person to be cast. I was cast after that,” he shared. However, the makers tried to find a new face for the role and considered the likes of Irrfan, Manoj Bajpayee and Vijay Raaz. “Then Om (Puri) passed away, then Kundan passed away. So, that was the end of the story,” Naseeruddin Shah said. He added, “It would be difficult to get past the lobbying today to make a sequel to Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.”

Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.As per the senior actor, the biggest challenge for Kundan Shah was to talk about corruption. He said, “The problem Kundan faced was that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was a film that talked about corruption. When we made the film at that time, this was 1982, giving a 50 paisa coin to a cop was a big thing, to get off the hook. Now, you have to give Rs 500. The corruption in the building industry and everywhere, it has expanded exponentially, so it would be a vast movie.”

Also read | Naseeruddin Shah has friends who’ve told him that his community is ‘not worthy’ of living in India: ‘They want to be on winning side’

You can watch Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro on Amazon Prime Video.

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