The 1983 film, Avtaar marked the comeback of the first superstar of Indian Cinema, Rajesh Khanna. The film proved to be a major box-office success and reignited the career of the star, who had faced a slump in the late 1970s. The massive success helped solidify his status as a superstar. Other hits like Souten and Agar Tum Na Hote for Rajesh Khanna followed the movie.
Recently, Shabana Azmi opened up about how director, Mohan Kumar's Avtaar brought numerous challenges for her and Rajesh Khanna. The actress revealed that the movie's most beloved song, Chalo Bulaawa Aaya Hai Maata Ne Bulaaya Hai, put the duo through some real tests. The song continues to be a popular pick, especially among devotees travelling to the Vaishno Devi shrine, but shooting it was a major challenge.
In a conversation with Radio Nasha Official, Shabana shared that shooting for the song was filled with hardships. She recalled that they had to trek to reach the temple as there were no helicopter services back in the day. Shabana further added that the lack of toilets made it an extremely difficult situation. She said:
"Shooting for 'Chalo Bulaawa Aaya Hai' for Avtaar was filled with hardships. During those days, there were no helicopter services, we had to trek to reach the temple. There were no toilets on the way. It was an extremely difficult situation."
Shabana Azmi shared it was hard to imagine the superstar, Rajesh Khanna, standing in line with Dalda Tins. She shared that the duo used to sleep on the floors of Dharamshala with 12 layers of blanket. Shabana further revealed that they were cold but did the shoot in the spirit of the song. She was quoted as:
"Can you imagine Rajesh Khanna, a superstar, standing in queue with Dalda dabbas? It was also extremely cold at that time. We used to sleep on floors in dharamshalas. We had mattresses with about 12 layers of blankets. We used six layers of blanket to cover ourselves, and we were still cold. At that point in time, Rajesh Khanna couldn’t be like 'I am a superstar'. We all did it in the spirit."
Shabana Azmi worked with superstar, Rajesh Khanna in seven films and shared a close friendship with him outside the set as well. In an interview, Shabana recalled a hilarious moment and shared that Rajesh once came to the shoot with a limp and bandaged ankle. She added that when the journalist asked him what had happened to his leg, he had lied and said that he had fallen while doing a horse riding scene. She stated:
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"'I was doing a horse riding scene yesterday. I fell off the horse.' I was quiet surprised. I was curious and I asked him, 'But, I was with you the whole time, when did you shoot a horse-riding scene?' He kicked my leg under the table and signalled me to keep quiet. Later, he said, 'I tripped and fell. Why do you have to tell the truth always? Obviously, I am not going to tell the journalist that, Mera paun dhoti mein phas gaya toh mai gir gaya. Let me have my moment. What’s your problem?' I laughed so much."
What are your thoughts on Shabana Azmi's revelation? Let us know.
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