Kajra Re Was Born At A Traffic Signal!

‘Casting
the
Bachchans
NOT
as
father
and
son
was
the
toughest
and
the
easiest
part.’

It’s
been
20
years
since

Bunty
Aur
Babli
released
in
theatres
on
May
27,
2005.

The
film
saw
a
casting
coup
with
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Abhishek
Bachchan
starring
together
for
the
first
time,
Rani
Mukerji
joining
in.

It
got
even
better
when
Aishwarya
Rai
joined
in
for
a
blockbuster
item
number,

Kajra
Re,
which
became
the
anthem
of
the
year.
Aishwarya
and
Abhishek
weren’t
married
at
the
time;
they
got
married
two
years
later.

Director

Shaad
Ali
looks
back
at
his
film
and
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“⁠I
would
do
another

Bunty
Aur
Babli
in
a
heartbeat.”

Although
you
made
other
popular
films,

Bunty
Aur
Babli
remains
your
signature
creation.
How
do
you
explain
its
popularity?

I
think

Bunty
Aur
Babli
is
an
experience
very
close
to
home
and
heart.

We
took
a
lot
of
time,
care
and
experience
to
write
the
characters
and
the
screenplay,
then
the
lyrics
and
the
music.

I
treated
it
like
my
first
film
and
put
all
my
love
into
it.

It
had
all
the
madness
of
my
life
then.
And
the
cast
projected
the
plot
on
to
the
screen.

The
film
exploded
in
the
theatres.
The
impact
was
so
potent
that
it
has
lasted
for
a
long
time.
I
think
it
will
last
forever!

Was
it
as
much
fun
to
shoot
as
it
is
to
watch?

It
was
a
huge
challenge
to
shoot.
No
one
has
shot
so
extensively
in
small
town
India
with
such
a
commercial
cast
and
scale.

I
was
extremely
adamant
and
confident
of
doing
it
the
way
it
was
done.

But
it
wasn’t
easy.

It
was
a
huge
responsibility
to
the
studio
(Yash
Raj
Films)
and
the
cast
and
crew.

But
we
had
a
blast
shooting
the
film
and
that
translated
on
screen.

The
casting
was
beyond
wow.
Was
it
tough
convincing
the
two
Bachchans
—
Amitabh
and
Abhishek
—
to
work
together?

Casting
the
Bachchans
NOT
as
father
and
son
was
the
toughest
and
the
easiest
part.
Tough
for
us
to
approach,
and
made
very
easy
by
them
in
performance.

The
rest
of
the
cast
was
also
bang
on.

The
casting
was
thought
out
and
clinical.

It
had
to
represent
the
milieu
and
at
the
same
time,
be
a
little
retro
and
nostalgic.
That’s
why
Rameshwari,
Raj
Babbar,
Puneet
Issar,
Kiran
Juneja,
Ranjeet,
Joginder
and
Prem
Chopra
(were
cast).

Did
you
ever
think
the
song

Kajra
Re
would
become
so
iconic?

⁠I
was
extremely
confident
of

Kajra
Re.
That’s
what
pushed
me
into
putting
my
full
weight
behind
it.

It
was
an
eight-second
riff
that
(composer-singer)
Shankar
Mahadevan
sang
to
me
at
a
traffic
signal.
I
said
this
is
mine
and
didn’t
look
back.

The
song
was
made
with
a
lot
of
love
and
care
by
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy,
a
lot
of
fights
with
Gulzarsaab
and
an
immediate
nod
from
Aishwarya
(Rai).
Choreographer
Vaibhavi
Merchant
gave
it
her
best.

Aditya
Chopra
always
knew
this
was
a
big
one
and
stood
behind
me
right
through.

Was
it
tough
shooting
in
Kanpur?

⁠Shooting
in
Kanpur
was
integral.
That’s
the
reason
the
film
was
born.

And
now,
even
if
I
never
make
a
film
again,
it
doesn’t
matter
because
Kanpur
and
my
name
are
in
the
history
books
forever
with
an
iconic
film
that’s
ingrained
in
our
pop
culture.

⁠I
would
do
another

Bunty
Aur
Babli
in
a
heartbeat.

A
sequel
is
a
very
tough
beast.
It’s
like
making
two-three
films
at
the
same
time.
You
have
to
be
mindful
of
the
first
part,
then
the
current
one
and
then
sow
enough
for
the
next.

What
are
you
working
on
now?

⁠I
have
wrapped
up
a
personal
documentary.
⁠I
am
starting
work
on
a
film
that
will
take
me
back
to
my
roots.
Again.