Revealed! The Drama Behind Andaz Apna Apna’s Comedy

‘Aamir
Khan
and
Salman
Khan
were
already
very
busy. Then,
Raveena
Tandon
and
Karisma
Kapoor
started
signing
more
films,
Paresh
Rawalji
also
got
busy…

‘Rajkumar
Santoshiji got
offered Damini he
was
very
excited
about
it. He
told
dad
that
since
her
dates
were
available,
let
me
do
this
film
quickly.
But aisa
hota
toh
nahin.
That
film
also
took
time.

‘So sabke dates ka problem ho
gaya,
including
the
director’s.’

When

Andaz
Apna
Apna
released
in
1994,
it
didn’t
do
well
at
the
box
office. But,
over
the
years,
it
has
gained
cult
status.

On
April
25,

Andaz
Apna
Apna has
hit
the
screens
once
again,
hoping
to
correct
history
by
getting
the
kind
of
theatrical
release
it
deserved.

Priti
Sinha,
daughter
of
the
film’s
late
producer
Vinay
Kumar
Sinha,
was
about
cast
member
Raveena
Tandon’s
age
(around
22
years
old)
when
the
film
was
being
made.

She
looks
back
and
gives

Ronjita
Kulkarni/Rediff
some
gold
nuggets
from
its
making.
One
of
them
is
this
interesting
fact:
“Amrish
Puri
was
approached
to
play
a
character
called
Zorambo,
taking
off
on
Mogambo.
But
because
he
didn’t
have
any
dates,
the
team
cast
Shakti
Kapoor.”

How
many
times
have
you
watched

Andaz
Apna
Apna?

My
dad
hosted
some
100
trial
shows
of
the
film.
So
those
100,
plus
another
100
(smiles).

He
was
socially
very
active.

We
are
from
Bihar
so
all
our
relatives,
plus
his
friends,
industry
friends,
anyone
who
would
call
him
and
ask
for
a
trial
show…
my
dad
would
keep
one
for
them
and
their
families.

He
was
also
part
of
the
censor
board.

Since
it
is
a

mazedaar
film,
Dad
used
to
be
very
happy
to
see
people
rolling
on
the
floor
and
laughing.

Did
you
ever
go
on
the
sets?

Yes.
I
travelled
to
Ooty
twice
when
my
dad
had
to
shoot
the

Eello
Ji
Sanam
Hum
Aa
Gaye
song
and
then
some
scenes.

Can
you
share
some
of
your
memories?

There
would
be
a
lot
of
laughter
on
the
sets.

And
my
father
never
said
no
to
(Director)
Rajkumar
Santoshi.
He
really
loved
him
and
I
know
the
feeling
was
mutual.

When
his
sister
was
getting
married,
or
there
was
any
family
function,
my
father
was
always
there
to
hold
his
hand.

Irrespectively
of
how
many
years
the
film
took,
my
father
never
refused
Rajji
anything.

Since
Rajji
was
a
foodie,
my
father
used
to
feed
him
good
food.

My
father
had
a
great
cook
and
sometimes
the
food
would
go
to
the
sets
from
home.

Rajkumar
Santoshi
was
just
a
film
old
when

Andaz
Apna
Apna
started
filming;
his
earlier
film
was
the
actioner, Ghayal.
What
was
he
like?

Yes,
he
was
young
and
just
one
film
old.

I
remember
he
did
talk
about
doing
another
action
film
the
second
time
too
but
my
father
said
that
we
have
these
two
heartthrobs,
let’s
make
something
lighter,
fresher.
Since
Rajji
had
already
done
action,
my
father
suggested
they
try
a
different
genre.

Rajji
was
a
foodie.
He
would
come
home
often
because
mom
was
a
good
cook.

There
were
two
perfectionists
on
that
set,
Rajji
and
Aamirbhai.

Aamir
would
come
on
set
two
hours
before
his
call
time
and
discuss
with
Rajji.

He
was
very
passionate
and
excited
about
his
work.

Since
the
film
took
four
years
to
get
made,
was
it
a
financial
strain
on
your
father?

The
film
was
going
to
be
made
in
a
year
with
a
certain
budget.
Since
it
took
four
years
to
be
made,
the
budget
increased
by
four
times.

If
a
producer
has
anticipated
that
a
film
will
get
done
in
a
year,
he
would
have
funds
only
for
one
year
right?
Any
delay
is
going
to
crunch
your
financials.

I
don’t
know
how
it
finally
played
out
but
I
know
that
Aamirbhai
helped
with
his
dates. Salman
stood
like
a
rock
probably
because
of
Salim
(Khan)
uncle. Salim
uncle
is,
I
think,
was
where
it
started.
He
had
told
dad
to
make
a
film
and
Salman
would
be
there. 

Papa
made
about
10
films,
including

Chor
Police
and

Ameer
Aadmi
Gareeb
Aadmi,
and
he
completed
all
of
them.
But
he’s
only
remembered
for

Andaz
Apna
Apna.

It
was
a
very
special
for
him.
For
starters,
Aamir
and
Salman
were
signed
together
for
the
first
time.
That
became
the
talk
of
the
town.

Rajji
was
coming
from
the
big
hit,

Ghayal.

So
there
was
a
lot
of
excitement.

But,
as
things
progressed,
my
father
felt
that
the
combination
dates

mein
problem

ho
gaya. Aamir
and
Salman
were
already
very
busy. Then,
Raveena
and
Karisma
started
signing
more
films,
Pareshji
(Rawal)
also
got
busy…
and
if
you
see
the
film,
all
their
scenes
are
together.

Rajji
got
offered

Damini
with
Meenakshiji
(Sheshadri)
and
he
was
very
excited
about
it.
So
he
took
up
that
film
in-between. He
told
dad
that
since
her
dates
were
available,
let
me
do
this
film
quickly.
But

aisa
hota
toh
nahin.
That
film
also
took
time.

So

sabke
dates

ka
problem

ho
gaya,
including
the
director’s.

Imagine
the
stress
my
father
must
have
gone
through!

How
did
he
combat
it?

He
moved
heaven
and
hell
to
make
the
film
but
didn’t
take
on
a
partner
to
co-produce
it
with
him.

Raveena
had
once
posted
on
social
media
that
none
of
the
actors
were
talking
to
each
during
the
making
of
the
film.
Is
that
true?

Yes,
they
weren’t
talking
to
each
other.

But
the
actors
would
know
more
about
that.

Everybody
was
very
young
at
that
time.
I
think
Raveena
and
I
were
of
the
same
age.
You
never
know
what
they
were
thinking
about.

Did
you
interact
with
the
cast?

We
knew
Aamirbhai
because
he
was
a
family
friend.
Tahir
(Hussain,
Aamir
Khan’s
father)
uncle
was
a
family
friend.
Even
Raveena,
Karisma,
but
to
a
little
lesser
extent
than
the
others.

I
had
met
Salman
recently
and
told
him
that
the
only
time
I
had
met
him
was
when
we
went
to
Ooty.
I
hadn’t
met
him
from
then
till
now.

Did
he
recognise
you?

No,
he
did
not!
But
we
were
both
very
young
when
we
first
met
and
there
hadn’t
been
much
interaction
then.

My
brother
Amod,
sister
Namrata,
nephew
Shrey
and
I
had
gone
to
his
house
and
we
had
a
nice
time,
talking
about
the
film
and
about
dad.

Andaz
Apna
Apna
had
a
big
cast,
including
stars
like
Paresh
Rawal,
Mehmood
and
Deven
Verma.
How
difficult
was
it
to
manage
so
many
egos?

My
father
began
his
career
in
production
and
went
on
to
make
many
films.
We
had
a
great
relationship
with
all
the
actors
like
Devenji,
Jagdeep
uncle,
Mehmoodji over the
years.

I
have
a
picture
of
Mehmood
uncle
holding
my
siblings
and
me;
I
was
about
four
or
five
years
old
then.

Viju
(Khote)
uncle
was
a
very
dear
friend
of
my
dad’s.

So
I
think
all
this
was
done
with
a
lot
of
love
and
affection
for
my
father.

Please
share
some
fun
facts
about
the
film
that
no
one
knows
yet.

Amrish
Puri
was
approached
to
play
a
character
called
Zorambo,
taking
off
on
Mogambo.
But
because
he
didn’t
have
any
dates,
the
team
cast
Shakti
Kapoor.

Shehzad
Khan
was
struggling
for
a
very
long
time.
He
used
to
often
meet
dad
for
a
role.
So
my
father
took
him
to
Rajji
and
told
him
that
he’s
Ajit’s
son,
please
write
a
role
for
him. Till
date,
Shehzad
Khan
remembers
my
father
as
his
godfather.

(Lyricist)
Majrooh
Sultanpuri
loved
dad
and
that’s
how
he
came
to
do
the
film.
His
son
Andaleeb
Sutanpuri
assisted
Rajji;
my
brother
Amod
assisted
too.

There
was
a
lot
of
drama
behind
the
comedy.

The
film
flopped
when
it
first
released
in
1994.

No,
it
did
not.

For
the
longest
time,
there’s
been
this
perception
that
the
film
was
a
flop.

My
father
had
told
me
that

Andaz
Apna
Apna
was
supposed
to
release
in
1993. The
first
copies
were
out,
the
promotions
had
started. But
Rajji
wanted
to
make
some
changes
so
the
release
was
shifted
to
1994.

The
promotional
activities
stopped
but
money
had
already
been
spent
on
it.

Later,
when
the
film
was
ready
to
release
again,
none
of
the
actors
were
around
to
promote
it.
They
were
busy
with
their
other
films. Aamir
and
Salman
were
shooting
out
of
town. So
none
of
the
actors
came
to
the
premiere.
Only
Meenakshi
Sheshadri
came.

It
was
a
limited
release,
so
people
thought
the
film
didn’t
do
well.

But
my
father
made
money,
the
distributors
made
money,
so
how
can
it
be
a
flop?

People
would
tell
my
father
he
had
made
a
wonderful
film,
they
would
tell
him,

‘Aap
purush
nahin,
mahapurush
hai!’