30 Years of Khuda Gawah EXCLUSIVE: "I got requests from some of the biggest producers for the remake rights. However, Amitabh Bachchan was not in favour of a remake" - Manoj Desai

The epic Bollywood film, Khuda Gawah, will celebrate its 30th anniversary on May 8. Released in 1992, this multi-starrer starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Danny Denzongpa, Nagarjuna, Shilpa Shirodkar and Kiran Kumar was a rare Hindi film set partly in Afghanistan. It was directed by the late Mukul Anand and co-produced by Manoj Desai, executive director, G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir Cinema. In fact, this is the only film made by Manoj Desai.

As the film completes 30 years, Bollywood Hungama decided to speak to Manoj Desai about the film, the casting and the experience of shooting it, in his plush office inside Maratha Mandir. Manoj Desai is known for fearlessly giving statements on matters related to the exhibition sector. Our interview about this classic film was no exception

Did you remember that Khuda Gawah was completing 30 years?
To be honest with you, mere dhyaan mein nahi tha (smiles). Thank you very much for letting me know that Khuda Gawah is going to turn 30 years old on May 8. I had released the film here at Maratha Mandir. Even the premiere was held here.

How did an exhibitor like you become a part of this film as a producer?
I was with my uncle, Manmohan Desai ji, at his house. Amitabh Bachchan was also present there. Amitabh told Manmohan Desai ji that he loved the character of Kabuli Pathan essayed by Pran saab in Zanjeer (1973). He expressed a desire to play a similar kind of role in a film. So I started writing the synopsis. I got the idea of incorporating Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif where the buzkashi game takes place in the opening sequence. I knew a bit about the country as I had seen Feroz Khan’s Dharmatma (1975). Danny saab had an idea about the Afghan dialect and culture and he said that he’ll teach the same to Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi. That’s how the film took shape.

Is it true that Sridevi had demanded that she wants to play both the wife and daughter’s roles?
Yes. Initially, she was not even ready to sign Khuda Gawah. This is because she said that in her earlier films with Amitabh Bachchan – Inquilaab (1984) and Aakhree Raasta (1986) – her role comprised marrying Big B and being a mother to his kids and nothing else! I told her that I’ll give her a bound script and it’ll have Amitabh Bachchan’s signature, stating that not a single scene will be cut from the film. I remember she was shooting Chaalbaaz at that point. We booked her stay in Centaur Hotel, Juhu. We had sent the script there, in her suite, which was room no 3702.

Wow, you even remember the room number!
Haan, kaise yaad nahi rahega. Uss room ki payment bahut zabardast ki thi humne! She read the script and saw the signed declaration of Amitabh Bachchan. If you see, in the film, Sridevi had more prominence than Amitabh Bachchan as the latter gets jailed in the second half.

Khuda Gawah had a star-studded premiere in Maratha Mandir…
Premiere mein jo dhamaal hui thi, main kya bolun aapko. 20,000-25,000 people were standing outside. Almost the whole industry had come for the premiere. Everyone was invited.

How was the response of the audience to the film?
The response was extraordinary. Khuda Gawah did phenomenal business. It ran for 50 weeks. It was appreciated a lot. Even Amul had put up Khuda Gawah-inspired hoardings. The tagline was ‘Aap khud hai gawah’! Some 340 hoardings were put up in the whole country.

Even today, when the film is aired on TV, I get calls not only from those in India but also from viewers outside India as well!

It’s said that it worked big time in Afghanistan too…
It was a super-duper hit in that country. Even today if it gets re-released, all shows would get sold out.

Khuda Gawah’s duration was 3 hours+. Did that cause a problem?
Yes, it was more than 3 hours 15 minutes in duration. Then, I had to beg the director and reduce the length. It seemed a little long to the viewers and also accommodating shows becomes a problem for the exhibitors. So, we removed around 20 minutes from the film. Even then, the film was nearly 3 hours long.

Did anyone from Bollywood ever ask you for its remake rights?
Of course, I got requests from some of the biggest producers for the remake rights. However, Amitabh Bachchan was not in favour of a remake.

In today’s times, we see Southern films being dubbed in Hindi. Khuda Gawah was a Hindi film which was dubbed in Telugu and released in cinemas there. How did the dubbed version fare?

Telugu version ka response bahut zabardast tha. It had ran for 25 weeks.

After Khuda Gawah, you never made any other film. Why was that?
I didn’t get the chance or time. This is because our NRI managing director, Mr Arun Nahar, wanted to expand our Gaiety-Galaxy property. Earlier, there were only 3 theatres – Gaiety, Galaxy and Gemini. Later, we added 4 more cinema halls – Grace, Gem, Glamour and Gossip. This is why it’s called G7 multiplex. Maratha Mandir is a heritage property and hence I couldn’t make changes. As a result, I couldn’t produce any more films But no complaints. Yahan apni shaan-o-shaukat hai (smiles).

Also Read: Amitabh Bachchan remembers Sridevi and Irrfan Khan as Khuda Gawah and Piku complete 28 and 5 years respectively