Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Veteran actor Asrani gave some noteworthy performances in films such as Bawarchi (1972), Namak Haraam (1973), Abhimaan (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), and Sholay (1975) among others. But before making it big in the Hindi film industry, the actor faced a lot of rejection. He struggled hard to make his way into the Hindi movies. Recently, during his appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show along with Shakti Kapoor and Tiku Talsania, Asrani shared how filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee ignored him for four years but he kept visiting his bungalow in the hope of getting a break in Bollywood.
Asrani told the host of the show, Kapil Sharma, “Acting course karne ke baad 5 saal lag gaye. Pehli film mili Guddi, jisne meri pehchaan karvaayi. Vo bhi kaise mili, main Hrishikesh Mukherjee sahab ke peeche jaata tha.. (It took me five years after finishing my acting course to get my first film Guddi. How did I land a role in Guddi? I used to follow Hrishikesh Mukherjee) I used to show up at his bungalow. But, every time, he used to tell me not to enter his house as there were dogs there. And, whenever I entered, he used to release his three dogs on me.”
But things changed the day Hrishikesh Mukherjee visited Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune along with Gulzar and a few Bengali assistants. Asrani narrated, “When they came, I thought, ‘ab toh role milaa’ (now I will get a role) but they asked me, ‘Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) kaun hai? (Who is Jaya Bhaduri)?’ Maine apne mann mein bola, “Hatt saale..jaya bhaduri kaun hai? Meri maa hai..” (I was disappointed with their question and in my frustration, I wanted to tell them Jaya Bhaduri is my mother). But I didn’t say this. I then went to the canteen to call Jaya. I told her Hrishikesh Mukherjee is looking for you. She dropped the tea cup and exclaimed, ‘Hrishi kaku..'”
Jaya then met the filmmaker and he decided to do her screentest for Guddi. But an enthusiastic Asrani asked Hrishikesh’s assistant if there is some role for him in the movie. When he refused to reveal anything, it was Gulzar who told him about a small role of an aspiring actor in the film. “He told me there is a small role of a boy who comes to Mumbai to become a hero. But, don’t tell Hrishi Da that I told you.”
When the film director was leaving from the campus of FTII, Asrani once again approached him and said, “‘Hrishi Da, chaar saal ho gaye hain..’ he said, ‘haan pata hai..’ He then asked me if Jaya can dance, I told him, yes she can, even I can. Just give me a chance. He told me he will write a letter if there will be a role.”
Finally, Hrishikesh Mukherjee sent a letter to Asrani and he got the role of an aspiring actor in Guddi. The film became a hit and Jaya Bhaduri (Bachchan) became a star. “Jaya Bhaduri became a superstar and I got eight films after it,” Asrani shared during the episode.
After Guddi, Hrishikesh Mukherjee took Asrani in many of his films.
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
