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The 1983 film Avtaar, which was regarded as Rajesh Khanna’s comeback film, was a major success. It was after almost a decade of occasional successes that the actor gave a massive hit and followed it up with Souten and Agar Tum Na Hote. These films reestablished him as a superstar after he went through a slump in the late 1970s. Avtaar, directed by Mohan Kumar, also starred Shabana Azmi. The songs from the film, penned by Anand Bakshi, all became instant hits. However, a particular song, continues to resonate with people, especially when travelling to Vaishno Devi shrine, “Chalo, Bulaawa Aaya Hai, Maata Ne Bulaaya Hai”.
Recently, in a conversation with Radio Nasha Official, Shabana Azmi recalled shooting the song at Vaishno Devi shrine and said, “Shooting for ‘Chalo Bulaawa Aaya Hai’ for Avtaar was filled with hardships. During those days, there were no helicopter services, we had to trek to reach the temple. There were no toilets on the way. It was an extremely difficult situation.”
She added, “Can you imagine Rajesh Khanna, a superstar, standing in queue with Dalda dabbas? It was also extremely cold at that time. We used to sleep on floors in dharamshalas. We had mattresses with about 12 layers of blankets. We used six layers of blanket to cover ourselves, and we were still cold. At that point in time, Rajesh Khanna couldn’t be like ‘I am a superstar’. We all did it in the spirit.”
Shabana, who has done about seven films with Rajesh Khanna shared a special bond with the actor. In the same interview, she recalled a funny incident. She said, “Rajesh and I were pretty good friends. This one time, we were addressing media for something. He came in, and we saw he had tied bandage around his ankle and was limping. One journalist in the crowd noticed it and questioned him, ‘What happened to his leg?’ He quickly replied, ‘I was doing a horse riding scene yesterday. I fell off the horse.’ I was quiet surprised. I was curious and I asked him, ‘But, I was with you the whole time, when did you shoot a horse-riding scene?'”
“He kicked my leg under the table and signalled me to keep quiet. Later, he said, ‘I tripped and fell. Why do you have to tell the truth always? Obviously, I am not going to tell the journalist that, ‘Mera paun dhoti mein phas gaya toh mai gir gaya. (I tripped in my lungi). Let me have my moment. What’s your problem?’ I laughed so much.”
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