Veteran screenwriter Kamlesh Pandey, in a recent interview, recalled an incident on the sets of Saudagarh, where Dilip Kumar stayed away from the shoot for three days, pushing director Subhash Ghai to the brink of canceling the film.Talking about the Manali schedule, Kamlesh shared that the unit was all set to shoot a key scene, but Dilip Kumar did not inform the set.“For three days, even though the entire unit was ready with all the equipment and preparations, Dilip Saab did not turn up. On the first day, he said he was not feeling well. The next day, he said Saira Banu was unwell,” Kamlesh revealed on the Rafiya Sarda show.
“The film will not be made,” Subhash Ghai said.
By the third day, it was clear that the delay was negatively impacting production.Subhash Ghai was upset. He called his brother Ashok Ghai and said, “The shoot has been cancelled. We will return to Mumbai. Book tickets for everyone. Saudagar will not be made.” He added that everyone felt afraid.Then Kamlesh stepped in to talk to Dilip Kumar.
“Playing drunk at this age is not easy.”
When they met the actor at the hotel where he was staying, Dilip Kumar explained the real reason behind his absence.He told me, “I have played drunkards in films like Devdas, Sagina and Sunghursh, but that was when I was young.
At this age, you have control over your body. If the performance is a little lower, it seems like a deficiency; If it goes higher, it becomes overvalued. Maintaining this balance is not easy now, especially in my 60s,” recalls Kamlesh.
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“If I overact, point me out…”
Dilip Kumar eventually agreed to shoot the scene, but with a specific request.“Don’t tell Subhash Ghai, but you are behind the camera,” he told me. If I start overacting, give me a signal; And if I underestimate, give me another signal.
I will find the balance accordingly,” Kamlesh said.The scene was filmed, but the legendary actor remained unsure.
“I never got that 100 rupees.”
Then Kamlesh made a friendly bet. “I told him: If people don’t clap after this scene, I will give you 100 rupees. If they do, give me 100 rupees.”The scene eventually received applause, but Kamlesh added, “I never got that Rs 100.”Saudagar also starred Raj Kumar, Manisha Koirala, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, and Jackie Shroff, among others.
