25 Years of Taal EXCLUSIVE: Subhash Ghai reveals that Govinda was the original choice for Anil Kapoor’s role: “He declined since the heroine was marrying Akshaye Khanna. He told me, ‘Yeh film ki toh main character actor ban jaunga’” 25 : Bollywood News
Subhash Ghai, Anil Kapoor, A R Rahman, Ramesh Taurani, Kumar Taurani, Udit Narayan, Shiamak Davar and others attended the 25th anniversary special screening of Taal (1999) in Mumbai. It was held in PVR Juhu, Mumbai by Radio Nasha and was well organized by RJ Rohini, RJ Divya Solgama and their team. Before the event, the Showman, Subhash Ghai, spoke exclusively to Bollywood Hungama about the film and a lot more.
25 Years of Taal EXCLUSIVE: Subhash Ghai reveals that Govinda was the original choice for Anil Kapoor’s role: “He declined since the heroine was marrying Akshaye Khanna. He told me, ‘Yeh film ki toh main character actor ban jaunga’”
As per the July 17, 1999 issue of Komal Nahta’s Film Information Magazine, the screen size of Metro Cinema, Mumbai was increased by 33%, especially for Taal. What made you ask the cinema hall to do so?
We used modern technology to compose the soundtrack and shoot the visuals. Hence, it was important for us that we get the right effect on screen. And in the 90s, most theatres were not in good condition. I had to visit many main theatres in different cities in India. I requested their owners to check their sound quality and if their sound is inferior, it should be changed to the Dolby system. After all, I had worked very hard on the songs. It took as many as 32 days to mix the songs and 70 days to record the songs!
Hence, I told the exhibitors, ‘Humne itna badhiya kaam kiya hai. Aap co-operate karo’. As for Metro, I felt the screen was small. Hence, I made a request to them to increase the screen size. I told the owner, ‘Hamari saari filmein aapke theatre mein hit hui hai. Aapne paise kamaya hai. Ab hamare liye kuch kijiye’ (smiles). They understood why I was saying so and agreed to make the change.
I remember watching the film in Metro Cinema and there was a lightening effect done at the end of the song ‘Taal Se Taal Mila’…
(Smiles) Yes, and we did it to enhance the cinematic experience of the viewers.
Through Film Information magazine, we also learned that Taal was the first Hindi film to get a release in IMAX at the IMAX 3D theatre in White River State Park, Indianapolis, USA…
This is the first Hindi film that appeared in the Hollywood trade magazine Variety in their top 10 chart. Hence, it got recognition amid Hollywood and Korean films. There were theatres with 10-12 screens in the USA. Taal was playing all the 10 screens and all shows were sold out. There was a huge craze for the film.
As for the IMAX release, the film had effects which were apt for an IMAX viewing. Hence, when viewers saw Taal, they felt like they were watching an IMAX-worthy film.
In the film, we see Aishwarya Rai Bachchan doing difficult yoga poses. Did she have to undergo training for those scenes?
She is a great dancer and I asked her if she can do the poses shown in the film. She agreed instantly. She even showed me that she can bend in different ways. Once I saw that, I wrote the scene accordingly. She proved to be the biggest asset for Taal. Her beauty, her grace and her talent played a huge part.
Is it true that Govinda was the first choice for the role played by Anil Kapoor?
I wrote the first draft keeping Govinda in mind. But Govinda declined since the heroine was marrying Akshaye Khanna in the end. He told me, ‘Yeh film maine ki toh main kahin character actor toh nahin ban jaunga?’! I replied, ‘Then I advise you not to do this film’. That’s when I approached Anil Kapoor; he’s a permanent artist at Mukta Arts!
After the success of Gadar 2 and the hype surrounding Border 2, there’s a growing trend of sequels to films older than 2 decades. Keeping this in mind, have you thought of Taal 2?
A lot of people have approached us for Taal 2, Khalnayak 2, Karma 2, etc. At Mukta, we have a great library. The trend of sequels is there and let’s see (if we make one).
What next?
I have been writing a script for 3-4 years. I hope to announce it by the end of the year.
More Pages: Taal Box Office Collection
BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.
