Subhash Ghai redefined the cinematic landscape in the 1980s and 1990s with iconic films such as Taal, Pardes, Karz and Khalnayak, to name a few. He was famous for giving newcomers an identity through films that, even today, are considered incomparable.
In a recent conversation on Times Now's Dil Ki Baatein podcast, he addressed the notion of grooming newcomers - something he is well known for.
From Akshaye Khanna and Madhuri Dixit to Aishwarya Rai and Jackie Shroff, he played a crucial role in giving them some of their biggest blockbusters.
Subhash Ghai said, "I struggled in the film industry for five to seven years. I knew these people got work through the people they knew. I also came from Delhi, so I faced opposition and rejection. Toh mujhe hamesha newcomers attract karte hai. Jinmein hunger aur humbleness ho, attitude na ho. Unmein kaam karne ke qualities, humbleness aur hunger bhi hai. Toh jitne bhi aap ne naam liye, inn sab mein passion tha.(So I have always been drawn to newcomers — those who have hunger and humility, not attitude. They possess the qualities needed to work: humility and hunger. All the names you mentioned had that passion in them.)"
He continued, "Raj Kapoor saab ki ek film thi Mera Naam Joker jo flop ho gayi thi. Uss gusse mein unhone banayi Bobby jo bahut badi hit hui. Waha se mujhe hua yeh filmmaker hai, yeh film filmmaker ki hoti hai, actors ki nahi. Filmmaker chahe toh Bobby bana sakta hai. Waha se maine decide kiya ki main stars ke saath films nahi banaunga. Aaj bhi main films nahi bana raha because of this star system. Aaj toh chhote chhote stars ka bhi attitude hai. (Raj Kapoor had a film called Mera Naam Joker which turned out to be a flop. In that frustration, he made Bobby, which became a huge hit. That's when I realised that a film belongs to the filmmaker, not the actors. If the filmmaker wants, he can create a Bobby. From then on, I decided I would not make films with stars. Even today, I don't make films because of this star system. Nowadays, even small actors have attitude.)"
"Toh main films likhta hoon, main film banata hoon, main uske music mein sanyog karta hoon. Aakhir tak 32 art and craft hote hai films mein, unke sense hone chahiye. Film ek director banata hai toh unko banane dijiye. Agar star ko le liya toh poora script woh star ke paas chala jaayega. Newcomer ko lenge toh woh script newcomer ke taraf jaayega. Pardes mein Mahima Chaudhry nahi rehti toh chalti? Nahi chalti. Kyunki woh nayi ladki thi. Aaj commerce ne takeover kar liya hai - bankable, viewers, influencers, box office (So I write films, I make films, I contribute to their music. In the end, there are 32 different arts and crafts that go into films, and they all need to make sense. A film is created by a director, so let them make it. If you take a star, the entire script ends up revolving around that star. If you take a newcomer, the script goes towards the newcomer. Would Pardes have worked without Mahima Chaudhry? No, it wouldn't. Because she was a fresh face. Today, commerce has taken over — bankability, viewers, influencers, box office)," concluded the maverick filmmaker.
About Bobby
Buzz is that after the colossal failure of Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor had to deal with the debt his studio was facing.
Not being able to afford big stars then, Raj Kapoor cast newcomers Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in Bobby - a huge gamble that paid off. Straying away from the adult melodramas of that time, Bobby became a cultural phenomenon as it told the story of a rebellious teenage couple.
About Upcoming Projects
Subhash Ghai recently revealed that the Taal 2 script was in the works. In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, he shared that the film can only be made with newcomers - just as he did all those years ago with Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai.
