Rohit Shetty was ‘scared’ about Tusshar Kapoor’s mute character in Golmaal; couldn’t find anyone for Arshad Warsi’s part: ‘Only because Munna Bhai MBBS was postponed…’

In a recent interview, Rohit Shetty revealed how Golmaal happened and how he zeroed in on the cast of the film.

New Delhi | January 5, 2024 07:27 PM IST

3 min read

Film star Ajay Devgan, Sharman Joshi, Arshad Warsi and Tushar Kapoor in GOLMAAL. *** Local Caption *** Film star Ajay Devgan, Sharman Joshi, Arshad Warsi and Tushar Kapoor in GOLMAAL.

Director Rohit Shetty made his Bollywood debut with Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan-led action-thriller Zameen in 2003, but it failed to impress the audience at the time. So, the filmmaker decided to make another thriller with Devgn in the lead. But destiny had different plans. Shetty ended up making a comedy-drama, Golmaal, which gained a cult status over the years. In a recent interview, he revealed how Golmaal happened and how he zeroed in on the cast of the film.

Golmaal was released in 2005. It starred Ajay Devgn, Sharman Joshi, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Rimi Sen, and Paresh Rawal, among others. The film was the idea of writer-director Neeraj Vora, who wrote films like Hera Pheri (2000), Ajnabee (2001), Hulchul (2004) and Bhagam Bhag (2007), among several others.

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Narrating how the story of Golmaal came to him, Rohit Shetty told Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, “I made Zameen, it didn’t work. Ajay said, ‘It’s ok. I will make a film with you again.’ So, we were writing a thriller and the production company Ashtavinayak had signed me. While I was writing it, I met Neeraj Vohra, who used to frequent the office of Ashtavinayak. He asked me, ‘Should I narrate a story to you?’

Shetty was stunned that a writer-director of Vora’s stature was offering to narrate his story to him. “He said, ‘I had done a play in Marathi and Gujarati’. He then narrated the plot of Golmaal. It was luck, not my hard work. But then I worked very hard on that story,” the filmmaker added.

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Rohit Shetty then took Neeraj Vora to Ajay Devgn, who was ready to do a film with him. “He also said, ‘Jo karna hai karle (Do whatever you want to)’ So, he also supported me. We completed writing the film and made it in the hope that it would help me set my career and would do average business. I never thought it would become a cult film,” recalled Shetty.

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Though Devgn and Sharman Joshi were already on board, Shetty had difficulty casting for the part which was eventually played by Arshad Warsi. “Arshad Warsi was not a part of the film. Ajay and Sharman were there, but we could not find anyone for Arshad’s character. 2-3 actors rejected it also. Then we were told that Munna Bhai MBBS has been postponed and Arshad is free. We narrated the script to him at night, and within a couple of days, he was with us in Goa shooting the film,” Shetty shared.

He added, “Something similar happened with Tusshar. I asked him, ‘There’s no dialogue. Will you manage?’ He said yes and that character became a cult. I was scared about that character since there was no dialogue.”

Golmaal became such a huge success upon its release that Rohit Shetty turned it into a franchise. Golmaal Returns, Golmaal 3 and Golmaal Again tickled the funnybone of the audience.

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