‘I Have Lived In My Father’s Shadow’

‘My
father’s
friends
told
him
that
your
son
has
done
a
film
in
which
he
has
copied
your
voice.
That’s
how
he
saw a
couple
of
scenes
of
mine
in Andaz
Apna
Apna.’

‘He
told
me
I
shouldn’t
have
done
it.’

Shehzaad
Khan found
fame
by
imitating
his
own
father
Ajit
in
the
cult
classic



Andaz
Apna
Apna,
which
re-released
on
April
25.

He
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“My
relationship
with
my
father’s
was
exactly
like
Ranbir
Kapoor’s
relationship
with
Anil
Kapoor
in Animal.”

You
did
many
films
before
and
after

Andaz
Apna
Apna. Yet,
you
are
known
best
for
that.
Did
your
mimicry
of
your
father
Ajit’s
style
in
that
film
impede
your
career?

No,
it
didn’t.
It
was
just
a
character
that
I
was
playing
and
I
did
many
films
as
myself
in
my
own
voice.

But
yes,
this
film
became
a
kind
of
a
launch
pad
for
me,
even
though
I
had
done
films
like Som
Mangal
Shani,
Qayamat
Se
Qayamat
Tak,
Purani
Haveli
and Abhi
Toh
Main
Jawaan
Hoon
before
that.

What
was
your
reaction
when
you
were
first
offered
this
role?

I
was
very
excited
to
work
with
Raj
Santoshisaab
and
producer
Vinay
Sinhaji.

I
did
my
first
film
with
Vinayji,

Abhi
Toh
Main
Jawaan
Hoon. It
was
a
video
film.

He
had
promised
me
a
good
role
in
his
feature
film
and
he
kept
his
word. 

Your
father
Ajit
had
worked
in
some
of
the
most
successful
films
from

Mughal-e-Azam
to

Zanjeer.
Was
he
a
big
influence
on
you?

My
father
was
a
very
big
influence
on
me.

I
think
he
was
one
of
the
finest
actors;
I
always
idolised
him.

My
relationship
with
my
father’s
was
exactly
like
Ranbir
Kapoor’s
relationship
with
Anil
Kapoor
in

Animal.

Was
it
tough
living
in
the
shadows
of
such
a
formidable
man?

Since
I
am
his
son,
I
have
always
been
known
as
Ajitsaab‘s
son
and
yes,
I
have
lived
in
his
shadow.

But
I
have
done
a
lot
of
films
in
my
own
voice
and
in
my
own
style.

Since
I
look
like
him
and
though
he’s
physically
not
present
in
this
world,
people
see
him
through
me.
In
this
industry,
there
is
no
father-son
resemblance
as
close
as
mine
and
my
father’s.

I
am
very
grateful
to
God
for
that.

Is
it
true
that
he
was
upset
when
you
mimicked
him
in

Andaz
Apna
Apna?

My
father’s
friends
told
him
that
your
son
has
done
a
film
in
which
he
has
copied
your
voice.
That’s
how
he
saw a
couple
of
scenes
of
mine
in

Andaz
Apna
Apna.

He
told
me
I
shouldn’t
have
done
it.

At
the
same
time,
I
told
him
that
I
was
very
passionate
about
my
work.
He
used
to
see
that
I
had
struggled
to
reach
where
I
did,
and
was
still
struggling.

So
he
understood
because
he
had
also
struggled
a
lot
in
life.

After
that,
he
never
said
anything
about
it.