Baswani dead,jolt to movie sequel

“I am shocked to hear this. We had almost decided on the script and things were going as planned. But life is unpredictable,” says Kundan Shah. The director had met Naseerudin Shah and Baswani four or five times recently to discuss the sequel.

Kundan Shah first met him in the 1970s when Baswani,a National School of Drama Graduate,had just moved to Mumbai from Delhi. “Those were his struggling days. Although he kept trying to get into films,he did theatre regularly.”

Filmmaker Pankaj Parashar,who made debut film Ab Aayega Mazaa with Baswani,remembers him as a vibrant person. “Alok Nath,Raja Bundela,Girja Shankar,Ravi and I were jobless there. We all hung out at Prithvi Theatre. One day we decided to make our own film,” says Parashar. Apart from acting,Baswani helped with the catering on the sets.

Though Parashar later made Peecha Karo with him,their first film remains special. “Ravi’s funky character and his accented Hindi clicked. When I heard Omi Vaidya in 3 Idiots,it reminded me of him,” says Parashar.

For Alok Nath,who co-produced Ab Ayega Mazaa,Baswani was a father figure. “He was a theatre activist in Delhi during the ’70s. He was my biggest inspiration as an actor,” says Nath,who like Baswani moved to Mumbai. “I respect him for his talent,power and modernist vision.”

Over the years,however,they had lost touch. “Only a year go,we started calling each other again. We made plans of meeting up,but now it will not happen.”

For Kundan Shah,Baswani’s eyes were his biggest asset. “He used them to perfection. Viewers always remember his expressions,” he says.

Rakesh Bedi,Baswani’s co-actor in Chashme Baddoor,reminisces,“He had contributed a lot to the script.” The actor didn’t achieve the success many felt he deserved. Bedi said,“He used to be very picky about what he did.”