‘No, I Didn’t Walk Out Of The Film’

‘Two
of
the
songs
haven’t
been
shot
by
me.
When
I
saw
the
film,
they
came
as
a
shock.’

Priyadarshan‘s
cult
classic
film

Hera
Pheri
turns
25,
and
makes
the
film-maker
go
down
memory
lane.

He
takes
the
time
to
discuss
the
things
that
went
wrong
with
the
film,
and
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“My
producer
thought
I
was
trying
to
make
an
art
film
in

Hera
Pheri.
He
told
me
my
film
looks
as
though
it
was
made
for
Rs
1
crore
—
when,
in
fact,
it
cost
much
more!
—
because
the
characters
wear
shabby
clothes
and
live
in
a
chawl.”

Hera
Pheri
was
a
hit
but
you
aren’t
around
to
enjoy
its
success
in
Mumbai.

By
then,
I
had
done
around
50
films
in
several
languages.
I
have
seen
more
ups
and
downs
in
my
career
than
most.

I
have
reached
a
point
in
my
career
where
success
or
failure
don’t
make
a
difference.

I
enjoy
my
success
but
to
some
extent,
I
have
become
immune
to
its
trappings.

I
have
seen
how
people
in
Mumbai
look
through
you
when
you
make
a
flop
film.

And
when
you
succeed…

You
don’t
see
the
same
attitude
in
the
South.

There,
once
you
are
accepted
as
a
director,
they
accept
you
regardless
of
your
failures
at
the
box
office.

In
Mumbai,
a
filmmaker’s
fate
fluctuates
from
Friday
to
Friday.

How
much
of
the
original
Malayalam
film

Ramaji
Rao

Speaking
did
you
retain
in

Hera
Pheri?

I
must
have
changed
about
30
percent
of
the
original.

I
changed
the
ambience
and
several
scenes.

I
did
not
want
so
many
songs
in

Hera
Pheri.

In
fact,
two
of
the
songs
haven’t
been
shot
by
me.
When
I
saw
the
film,
they
came
as
a
shock.

When
I
asked
my
producer
(A
G
Nadiadwala)
why
he
saw
the
need
to
add
the
songs,
he
said
the
film
didn’t
have
any
gloss.

I
requested
him
not
to
spoil
the
film
but
he
was
adamant.

The
matter
was
out
of
my
hands.

The
impression
in
Mumbai
is
that
you
walked
out
of
the
film
even
before
it
was
ready.

No,
I
didn’t
walk
out
of
the
film.

If
I
had
done
that,
why
would
the
producer
keep
my
name
in
the
credits?

Because
your
name
sells?

No.
My
producer
said
he
was
unable
to
sell
the
film
because
after

Virasat.
I
hadn’t
made
any
successful
Hindi
films.

After

Doli
Saja
Ke
Rakhna,
he
felt
I
knew
nothing
about
commercial
Hindi
cinema.

He
thought
I
was
trying
to
make
an
art
film
in

Hera
Pheri.

He
told
me
my
film
looks
as
though
it
was
made
for
Rs
1
crore
—
when,
in
fact,
it
cost
much
more!
—
because
the
characters
wear
shabby
clothes
and
live
in
a
chawl.

That’s
why
he
added
the
two
songs?

He
shot
the
two
songs
without
my
consent
with
Choreographer
Ahmed
Khan.

I
felt
they
didn’t
gel
with
the
rest
of
the
film.

But
he
persisted.

Apart
from
those
songs,
everything
else
that
you
see
in

Hera
Pheri
is
done
by
me.

Since
the
final
film
was
in
his
hands,
there
was
nothing
I
could
do
about
it.

Unfortunately,
I
hadn’t
signed
a
proper
contract
with
him.

Producer
Feroz
Nadiadwala
did
concede
that

Hera
Pheri
didn’t
need
those
songs.

The
day
the
film
released,
he
called
me
up
to
admit
that
it
was
liked
for
its
simplicity,
humour
and
emotion,
not
for
the
gloss.

I
was
happy
he
admitted
his
mistake.
Normally,
people
don’t.

But
it’s
your
film
the
audiences
have
got
to
see?

Absolutely.
You
have
seen
Suniel
Shetty
and
Akshay
Kumar
in
other
films,
and
then
you
saw
them
in

Hera
Pheri.

Obviously,
the
performances
have
to
be
sourced
to
me.

I
was
very
happy
with
my
artistes,
Akshay,
Suniel,
Tabu
and
Paresh
Rawal
were
very
co-operative.

Thanks
to
them,
I
finished

Hera
Pheri
very
fast.

The
delay
was
because
the
producer
was
trying
to
release
his
previous
film,

Kartoos.

A
major
part
of

Hera
Pheri
took
just
17-18
days.