If viewers don’t clap on Ajay’s entry, I’ll refund money: Sajid Khan

Film-maker feels the hero’s entry in a film should be given importance.

BHOPAL: A diehard fan ’80s  cinema, director Sajid Khan is attempting to recreate the magic with his Himmatwala remake that he says has all the elements of a bygone era — mother-son drama, heroism and, last but not the least, “a grand entry for (lead actor) Ajay Devgn” that will force viewers to clap.

“The film is based in 1983. I have kept references of ’80s; I have included a rush where Mohinder Amarnath LBWed a West Indies player, got him out on leg before wicket, and India won the World Cup. For that commentary, I have roped in Ameen Sayani saab, Mr Amitabh Bachchan on radio,” Sajid said during a group interview.

He clarified that the film was not a spoof and would see Devgn fighting with a tiger for the second time after Vijaypath.

“What used to happen in the ’80s movies, doesn’t happen anymore; for example the hero’s entry. Except for a couple of Salman Khan’s films, no importance is given to the hero’s entry. The kind of entry that Amitabh Bachchan had in Coolie, for me, it’s the entry of all time,” said Sajid and added he liked Devgn’s entry in Phool Aur Kaante as well.



“This is an open challenge that if viewers won’t clap on Ajay’s entry in Himmatwala, I will refund the ticket money,” said Sajid.

“I have designed such an entry for Ajay that I was clapping while I was writing it; I was clapping while I was shooting it. I have given a lot of stress on entry,” he added.

For his version of Himmatwala, Sajid has also roped in southern actor Tamanna.

“When I wrote scenes, I wrote it them in an ’80s style. The mother-son drama, the hero will fight with the tiger, save the whole village and  be friends with the tiger, and do some dialoguebaazi,something that made Mr Bachchan or Vinod Khanna and Dharmendara a star,” Sajid said.

He has so far directed three films, including Housefull and Housefull 2, and all of them were big hits. Sajid however doesn’t take himself seriously as a film-maker. “I take myself seriously only when I’m making a film. I make it from the audience’s point of view,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.                   

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