Shakti Kapoor recalls how an accident helped him land Feroz Khan’s Qurbani: ‘Look what you’ve done to my car’

“Qurbani was the film that made me who I am today. That film completely changed my life,” he said, adding, “I was staying at Vinod Khanna’s place and didn’t even have enough money to pay the rent as a paying guest. When Vinod Khanna found out how much I was struggling, he offered us a house in Juhu that was empty so I could stay there.”

Shakti Kapoor also recalled how he had done a photoshoot for a calendar around the same time, from which he managed to buy a second-hand Fiat for Rs 11,000. He explained that it was because of this very car that he eventually landed Qurbani. While driving down the road, his car was hit by another vehicle, driven none other than Feroz Khan himself.

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“I was driving on Linking Road when a Mercedes came from behind and hit my car, stopping just ahead after braking. I was furious, I didn’t even have money for food, let alone to fix this car. So I got out and started shouting at the driver. Turned out the man stepping out of the car was six-foot-two inches tall and it was Feroz Khan,” Shakti recalled. Seeing Feroz, Shakti’s anger immediately faded, and he began pleading for a role in the director’s next film. “I was like, ‘Sir, sir, please! My name is Shakti Kapoor. I’m from Film Institute. You’ve given everyone a chance, you even gave Danny a chance, please give me one too.’” He vividly remembered Feroz’s response: “Hey, look what you’ve done to my car.”

Though Feroz Khan walked away, it was this very incident that left a lasting impression. Shakti Kapoor said that he stuck in Feroz’s memory as an actor, so much so that Feroz eventually offered him the role of the antagonist in Qurbani.