Rakesh Roshan on casting Amrish Puri and Rakhee Gulzar in Karan Arjun (Photos: Rakesh Roshan / Instagram, YouTube Screengrab)
Recently, director Rakesh Roshan spoke to SCREEN about re-releasing 1995’s cult classic Karan Arjun on the big screen. As the film completes 30 years, Rakesh went down memory lane recalling how he cast Rakhee Gulzar for the role, he even shared an anecdote about how he joked with Amrish Puri that Karan Arjun’s return depended on how brutally his character killed them.
In the exclusive conversation, Rakesh Roshan recalled how Rakhee was cast in Karan Arjun. He said, “I have worked with Rakheeji a lot as an actor also, so I went to her to narrate the story. When I told her the story she asked me if I was there just to get her opinion or cast her. She immediately said yes. It was the pivotal role.” He also added how the vibration on set changed when Rakhee performed the ‘Mere bete aaenge’ scene, he said, “The way Rakhee performed and said those lines with such conviction it made the base of the story. Had she just said the dialogue simply, nobody would have believed it, but because she said it with such an impact, it showed in her eyes, we could feel the vibration. That is what made people also want Karan Arjun to come back.”
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The director also shared how Amrish Puri had asked him just one question when he was being cast. He shared, “Amrishji and I have been very close friends, he worked with me in Koyla and Kishan Kanhaiyyaa, so when I went to him, he asked me, ‘Do you think Karan Arjun will return?’ I said, ‘Aap jitni buri tarah se unko maarenge, who utni buri tarah se waapas aaenge aapko maarne ke liye (The more brutally you kill them, the more badly they will come back to kill you).”
Further talking about the film, Rakesh Roshan also shared, “Mostly films on reincarnation are made on love stories, this was the first time the film was made about relationship between the mother and two sons. I established that current of lovers meeting again between the two brothers.” He even shared how he never makes any changes in his scripts. “On my set, there are no scene changes or dialogue changes, whatever the actor says I won’t change. I work on the script for two years and then we go on floors, I read it to everyone to suggest changes that time, but I don’t entertain anything on set. I don’t talk to anybody also, I never go and sit with the actors or even have a cup of tea with them. If someone comes and talks to me it disturbs me, I am so involved.”
Karan Arjun re-releases on 22nd November in theaters.
Nawaz Kochra is an enthusiastic entertainment journalistic for the last 9 years, he has been a known face and successfully worked with some big publications. At IndianExpress.com, Nawaz majorly covers TV and OTT and also does video interviews. Having the best conversations with celebrities is what Nawaz loves. ... Read More