Old wise Kader

Veteran actor compares present day Bollywood films to the time when he started out

NEW DELHI: In today’s era, people don’t look for perfection in a movie but superstars like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, veteran actor-writer Kader Khan has said, adding a lot of good movies “suffer” due to that at the box office.

“Today, people don’t look for elegance and the perfection in any movie, all they care for is whether or not actors like Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan are present in it. A lot of good movies suffer due to this,” the actor said in an interview.

“I would say, that if the content of the movie is good treat it like any Salman or Shah Rukh Khan movie.” Kader is making a comeback in Bollywood after a long time with forthcoming movie Hogaya Dimaagh Ka Dahi.

Read: People refused to work with me when I fell ill: Kader Khan

Asked about the changes he has witnessed in the film industry, he said, “The industry has undergone a tremendous change  — both in terms of film writing and standard. It’s not that the standard of film industry has gone down, but yes, there’s a lot of change here now.”

He added, “a lot of talented directors like Rajkumar Hirani, Vishal Bhardwaj and Kabir Khan have come to B-town of late.” Kader, who has regaled the audience with his comic side in films like Himmatwala, Aankhen and Coolie No.1 among several other entertainers, feels that the way India is being projected in the movies now is not good.



“The films starring youngsters showcase western culture. Our India is not the way it is being projected.”

On Bollywood’s demand for a Padma award for him, the 79-year-old actor, who has been part of the industry for over four decades, said, “If the government feels that I have done good work, it will honour me. It’s people’s love that they are demanding it for me.”

Kader is all praise for Fauzia Arshi, director of Hogaya Dimaagh Ka Dahi. “I decided to maintain distance from the industry and pledged that I would never come back to it before Fauzia approached me with this movie. She said I should come back and encouraged me to do that.

“We worked together very affectionately and throughout the movie, she never let me feel that I was ill. She kept boosting my confidence. The whole crew of the movie was excellent and I just loved working with them,” he said.

He also thanked superstar Amitabh Bachchan for announcing his comeback to the world. “Amit ji announced my comeback on Twitter, I thank him for this. He is very close to my heart. I missed him a lot all these years,” he said.

Asked about his expectations with the movie, Kader said, “I have a lot of expectations with this movie. I watched a few portions and the promo of the movie and I am feeling really good about it.”

The movie also stars Om Puri and Sanjay Mishra. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th,  2015.

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