‘Subhashji Never Shouted On The Sets’

‘There
was
a
kind
of
disagreement
with
Subhashji
after

Meri
Jung
and
unfortunately
for
me,
I
did
not
get
to
work
with
him
again
after
that.’

As
Subhash
Ghai
turned
80
on
January
24,

Meenakshi
Seshadri
pays
rich
tribute
to
the
man
who
made
her
a
star.

She
tells

Dinesh
Raheja,
“For

Aye
Mere
Khwaabon
Ke
from

Meri
Jung,
Subhashji
carted
these
huge
pianos
onto
the
beach.
They
were
all
black
so
that
they
would
stand
out
against
the
sand
and
the
sea.
The
most
interesting
part
is
the
risk
he
took
of
shooting
this
during
the
peak
of
monsoon
in
Mumbai.”

Subhash
Ghai’s
personality,
his
success
and
the
lofty
reputation
as
a
filmmaker
that
he
has
created
over
the
years
speak
for
itself.

I
would
add
that
he’s
a
filmmaker
with
whom
I
still
want
to
make
movies
because
I
did
two
awesome
films
with
him
—

Hero
(1983,
co-starring
Jackie
Shroff)
and

Meri
Jung
(1985,
co-starring
Anil
Kapoor).

His
career
is,
of
course,
not
limited
to
these
films.
He
has
worked
with
the
best
of
the
best,
and
given
all-round
successes
which
cater
to
all
sensibilities.

Karz
was
the
first
movie
that
I
saw
of
Subhashji‘s
directorial
ventures,
and
thought
it
was
a
brilliant
movie.

I
was
first
told
about
Subhashji
by
Manoj
Kumar;
I
was
introduced
to
films
with
his
production

Painter
Babu,
1983.

Manojji
told
me
that
Subhash
Ghai
had
contacted
him
as
he
wanted
to
see
the
rushes
of
my
scenes.

Since
Manoj
Kumar,
who
introduced
me
to
films
without
taking
my
screen
test,
was
telling
me
that
I
must
work
with
Subhash
Ghai,
I
was
ready
to
go
into
this
with
eyes
closed.

My
first
meeting
with
Subhashji
was
when
he
was
editing

Vidhata‘s

Udi
Baba
song
filmed
on
Padmini
Kolhapure
and
Jagdeepji.

I
went
to
the
editing
studio
in
Khar
(north
west
Mumbai)
and
was
very
impressed
because
I
thought
that
the
set-up
looked
very
slick.

He
told
me
that
Radha,
my
character
in

Hero,
belongs
to
a
cultured
family.
She’s
very
aesthetic,
loves
music
and
is
a
classical
dancer.

Her
introduction
in
the
movie
itself
will
be
a
classical
dance
sequence.
I
just
felt
that
Radha
and
I
were
meant
for
each
other.

He
was
really
honest
with
me.
Initially,
he
wasn’t
sure
if
I
would
suit
the
role
of
Radha.
Fortunately
for
me,
he
was
soon
convinced.

Subhashji
had
this
unique
ability
to
spot
talent
and
present
it
beautifully
on
screen.
He
has
brought
to
the
spotlight
Madhuri
(Dixit),
Manisha
(Koirala),
Mahima
(Choudry)
besides
Jackie
and
me.

I
definitely
feels
he
looks
for
that
spark,
the
ability
to
reach
out
to
the
audience
through
the
camera’s
lens.

Bolte
hai
na,
johari
parakh
leta
hai
ke
kaun
asli
heera
hai
—
Subhashji
has
that
ability.

Subhashji
never
shouted
on
the
sets.

I
never
saw
him
angry.

There
were
times
when
he
got
irritated
but
he
knew
how
to
approach
the
artiste
and
keep
them
in
a
good
mood.
He
was
an
actor’s
director.

He
encouraged
me
not
to
be
scared
to
improvise,
to
be
spontaneous,
to
vary
my
acting
style
and
try
to
not
be
loud
in
my
expressions.

He
has
a
knack
of
bringing
out
the
best
in
the
actors
he
works
with.

In
one
scene,
Radha
complains
that
all
the
police
can
think
of
is
Arrest-attack.
Arrest-attack.

I
was
a
little
clueless
about
how
to
do
that
so
he
pretty
much
acted
it
out
for
me
(laughs)
and
said,
do
it
like
this.

Fortunately,
I’m
very
good
at
picking
up
cues
so
it
was
smooth
sailing.

The

Hero
song

Nindiya
Se
Aayee
Bahar
in
which
I
dance
on
a
giant
sized
tabla
is
beautifully
visualised.
I
shot
the
song
with
high
fever.

You
know,
a
lot
of
people
dissuaded
Subhashji
from
keeping
the
song
in
the
movie.
They
complained
that
it
was
the
first
song
in
the
movie
and
was
so
slow.
Classical.

But
Subhashji
said,
‘Mark
my
words,
this
will
be
a
classic.’
And
that’s
what
happened.

Each
song
in
Subhashji‘s
movie
soundtracks
is
interesting,
unique,
melodious,
and
popular.
The
picturisation
also
would
be
very
interesting.

I
did
feel
initially
that
he
had
borrowed
some
thoughts
from
Manoj
Kumar’s
style
of
song
picturisations
and
it
worked
out
very
well.

For

Aye
Mere
Khwaabon
Ke
from

Meri
Jung,
Subhashji
carted
these
huge
pianos
onto
the
beach.
They
were
all
black
so
that
they
would
stand
out
against
the
sand
and
the
sea.

The
most
interesting
part
is
the
risk
he
took
of
shooting
this
during
the
peak
monsoon
in
Mumbai.

He
wanted
the
monsoon
skies
and
high
tide
because
the
song
talks
about
the
beautiful
weather.

That
reminded
me
a
lot
of
old
Hollywood
musical

magnum
opuses
of
the
’40s
and
’50s
with
rich
and
elaborate
song
sequences.

Hero
was
a
huge
success
and
subsequently,
we
collaborated
on

Meri
Jung.

There
was
a
kind
of
disagreement
with
Subhashji
after

Meri
Jung
and
unfortunately
for
me,
I
did
not
get
to
work
with
him
again
after
that.

But
since
then,
I
hope
we
have
cleared
the
air.

I’m
glad
I’ve
had
the
opportunity
to
meet
him
now
that
I
have
returned
to
India
after
so
many
years.

I
met
his
wife
Rehanaji
and
his
daughters
who
I
saw
growing
up.

Now
they’re
handling
his
acting
academy
so
beautifully.
It
felt
nice
to
reconnect
with
him.

He
has
been
given
the
title
of
a
‘Showman’.
He
does
have
the
ability
to
create
entertaining
movies
which
balance
substance
with
showmanship.

But
if
I
had
to
use
another
title
for
Subhashji,
I
would
say
that
he’s
one
of
the
most
complete
Hindi
cinema
directors
we
have.

I
would
love
to
work
with
him
again.
I
hope
he
still
goes
strong
and
I
wish
him
a
very
happy
80th
birthday.