Filmmaker Pankaj Parashar recalled anecdotes about working with Sridevi, Rajinikanth, and Sunny Deol in the film ChaalBaaz, a slapstick comedy that was inspired heavily by Seeta Aur Geeta. Reflecting on shooting a song sequence, the filmmaker said that Sunny Deol disappeared for a full two hours after being told that he would have to dance. Meanwhile, Sridevi kept waiting on set.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Pankaj also praised Sunny for being disciplined on set, and praised him for not being a drinker. He also denied the rumours that Sunny was upset about his lack of screen time in the film. “The song ‘Na Jaane Kahan Se’, we had only three days to shoot it because there was strike brewing,” he said, adding that Sridevi challenged him to come up with something unique visually. He designed a storyboard, which left Sridevi impressed, but put choreographer Saroj Khan in a spot. “Saroj ji called me up and said, ‘Madam is happy, but now I have to come up with unique steps’. I said, ‘We’ll make Sunny dance’.”
He continued, “So, we started shooting. We were all coming up with ideas on the spot. Then, it’s time for Sunny to dance. He looked at the step and said, ‘I’ll just come from the bathroom’. He didn’t come back only. He was nowhere to be found for two hours.” Asked if Sunny was terrified of performing the steps, Pankaj said, “Obviously.”
Watch the SCREEN Live interview with Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol here:
He continued, “Meanwhile, Sri is standing and saying, ‘Kidhar hai hero?’ Then he came back and did it. I don’t know till today where he went. He was nowhere to be found for two hours. We all waited. But he did it. And the whole unit clapped.” Pankaj said that Sridevi filmed a part of the song in 101 fever, and was extremely impressed with how it turned out. “She said, ‘You shot a classic’. I still remember her words,” the filmmaker said.
Sunny and his father, the legendary Dharmendra, addressed their two left feet in an appearance on the Salman Khan-hosted show Dus Ka Dum. “When it was my turn to dance in films, I used to feel nervous. When Sunny entered the film industry, I hoped he could do what I struggled with in dancing. However, even Sunny faced difficulties with dancing,” Dharmendra recalled. Sunny added, “Like father like son.”
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