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Hero No 1

Sharmila Taliculam

Govinda. Click for bigger pic!

Waiting three days for an interview with Govinda is nothing out of the ordinary. He can't help it -- he is so busy.

Despite the surfeit of stars, he is the only one who gave shots continually, as if he is in a hurry to get the film done with. But his reputation has him as a star who comes in late and whose films take forever to make. So his "give me ten minutes" has you waiting for three days. So who is to blame? Still, his winsome smile takes you by surprise and you hazard that this could not be a person who takes things very seriously.

His easy, toothy smile puts you at ease instantly. But as he speaks, you realise there are hidden depths to the man, ones obliterated by that generous ear-to-ear grin that follows every revelation.

We caught him on the sets of Haseena Maan Jayengi where people with impressive titles jostled each other in the sweaty heat, heedless of the other's importance. There were technicians, publicists, photographers and guests coming for a dekko of their favourite star.

Today, Govinda has a scene with Karisma Kapoor, who, one might add, is clad in little else but a towel and the skin she was born in.

With Karisma Kapoor in Hero No 1. Click for bigger pic!

You wonder more how he manages to look so fresh despite shooting for three, hot, sultry days. He unleashes that devastating, lopsided grin again. It's part of his job, he says, a job he enjoys thoroughly.

You tell him that the first day you'd hung around awaiting an audience you'd noticed that he played both an old man and a young one. So was this a double role?

No, he assures you, just one character playing a second. And, no, such shifts don't faze him because he doesn't believe you have to get into the skin of the character to deliver his best. That's why his acting appears so effortless, he says. Sucks, therefore, to method acting.

Govinda is also loath to experiment with his team. He usually teams up with director David Dhawan, heroines like Karisma or whoever he is comfortable with at the moment, to act, preferably, in comedies.

Tell him that and he disagrees with you, telling you that a good script is high on his list of priorities. You point out that Hero No 1, Aunty No 1, Deewana Mastanaand many other films he starred in were comedies.

"That's not true. It's a misunderstanding that I do only comic roles. The problem was that many of my other films got delayed and my comedies were released first. Maybe that's why you think I can't do anything else. Wait for three or four months and you will be proved wrong."

Click for bigger pic!

Govinda's upcoming films include Achanak, Maharaja,and Shikari, all with serious storylines.

But despite the vehemence, he doesn't appear excessively bothered about what people think. As long as he can entertain and is up there lording the marquee, he isn't very perturbed.

But when he arrived in Bollywood, he had a lot of insecurity to combat. He was a man not at ease in English, he lived in loud clothes that were at variance with what Tinseltown encouraged, and he lived in the distant, unfashionable suburb of Virar. Recipe, almost, for disaster. If he had one asset, it was his ability to dance.

Though a graduate, he never considered a nine-to-five job. "Who would give me one?" he asks. Besides, his communication skills also left a lot to be desired. So he relied on what his father had suggested.

"My father told me that since films were the only place where no qualification was required, I should try that. In this line you got to invest nothing but your talent, unlike a business where nobody would have supported me. And my struggles began at the age of 14. I chose this career because I didn't have a choice".

With Amitabh Bachchan in Bade Miyan, Chote Miyan. Click for bigger pic!

So he lurked around the Rajshri Productions office, since they picked newcomers. But they didn't pick him. He then hoped he could maybe get some bit roles and survive. He didn't get any.

It was sheer luck, he says, that he became a hero at a time his confidence was at an all-time nadir.

His first release, Love '86, was a hit, though Tan Badan, the first film that he actually acted in, wasn't. Ilzam that followed also did well. And Govinda's reputation was made for the moment.

Then, he decided he'd better make the most of opportunity, and signed up every film he could lay hands on.

Soon enough, he found he couldn't do three shifts a day and do justice. Nor could he make any of them on time. He quickly earned the label of the most unpunctual star in show business.

Later, he decided he didn't have to make hay in such a hurry; there were years of bounty ahead. He also realised that even after the era of song and disco dance, he could, perhaps, make a niche for himself.

That's when he decided to buck his image of being just a dancing hero. He launched his first production, Hatya, a remake of a Tamil film, produced and directed by brother Kirti Kumar. Audience discovered Govinda could act too.

With David Dhawan. Click for bigger pic!

"There is a feeling we middle-class boys have that we are lacking in something. That is what makes us work hard. But it doesn't wipe out the insecurity. I have worked hard, but it is still there, somewhere in the corner of my heart. My recent film is a major hit, but I am still tense about my next venture. It is not a nice way of living though."

Tacitly or otherwise, Govinda is surrounded by hanger-ons most of the time. David Dhawan yells, "Chi Chi, come on, the shot's ready." Govinda seeks five minutes grace.

Why Chi Chi? That's his pet name. In Punjabi, a little finger is called that, also doubling up as a sign that one needs to visit the loo. Since Govinda is the youngest in the family, the nickname stuck.

After Hatya, Govinda's films began flopping in a big way and his underlying insecurities all came to the fore. That's when Pahlaj Nihalani offered to refurbish his image with Shola aur Shabnam. It was a major blockbuster.

Then came the comedy, Aankhen, directed by David Dhawan. And Govinda was made -- again.

A still from Aunty No 1. Click for bigger pic!

He got branded a comedian, but Govinda was a little chary of the label. He experimented with roles but, unfortunately, it was only the comedies that clicked. And he found he and David Dhawan made a hit pair, a trend that continues in Haseena Maan Jayengi.

As we chat, we get the feeling Govinda is superstitious.

He nods agreement, saying he is very god-fearing too, a trait he has never tried to hide. So there are hour-long poojas in the morning that he drew from his mother, who was his driving force. His humility is attributed to her exhortations and he was shattered when she passed away.

"She always told me people love you more when you are no longer alive. How true that is. I really miss her." Another thing he misses now, he says, is meeting genuine people. Since he promotes co-stars, he has often been used as a stepping stone to success. He doesn't complain about their indifference to him later, but the hurt is apparent in his eyes when he says, "I don't think the industry is artificial. Everybody behaves the way they feel like as and when times demands."

Govinda keeps thinking about his career and where it is heading, but these days it doesn't bother him as much as it used to. Which is why he is willing to try his hand at parallel cinema now, doing one good, meaningful film a year.

That, along with three commercial movies to keep him out of financial trouble, will ensure he has time to spare for family and friends.

With Juhi Chawla in Dewaana Mastana. Click for bigger pic!

"I generally play very true to life characters and lot of me is involved in them... I am one of them."

Which is just what might have to change if he gets into parallel cinema.

"Surprisingly, whenever such film-makers have met me, they have shown love and concern for me, always saying they would love to make a film with me. Only I was a little scared to venture out of this circle. My home fires were burning just fine and I didn't want to starve by doing this."

He is quite proud of the fact that he doesn't have to prepare for a character. Because most of his preparation is done at the script-reading stage itself. As he said earlier as long as he is comfortable with the set-up -- his main concern -- his character is already defined for him.

It's a rare confidence he exudes these days, the one that gave his smile that easy charm we'd admired. For despite the failure of Aunty No 1, he's been having a successful streak.

Aunty No 1 came under scrutiny because it was compared with Kamal Hasan's Chachi 420. Govinda had claimed his film was very different indeed, pushing the point through in the promos on the idiot box.

A still from Dewaana Mastana. Click for bigger pic!

"I always said that Chachi 420 was far superior to my film. My film was based on Moruchi Maushi (a Marathi play). Besides, Kamal Hasan has made his mark in this industry. It would not do for somebody like me to try and disturb that. He is too big. I was not doing what he was doing.

"They were two different films. I know my limitations and I was not going to go beyond them," he says. He admits that the controversy over the two similar-looking films could have proved the downfall of Aunty...

"It was hurriedly made. And there were a lot of things left as a result. If I had the time and the energy to make the film again, then I would definitely do better," he says.

But not now. For he'd rather spend time and energy on the road ahead. He is working on Bade Miyan, Chote Miyan with Amitabh Bachchan, an experience, he says, which has been exhilarating. He even dubs Bachchan, whom he worked with earlier in Hum, his guru.

There is a kind of chemistry there, according to Govinda, that promises another Sholay.

Click for bigger pic!

"You see, when you act with an actor of Amitji's calibre, the best part is that he can teach you a lot. I look up to him, despite being an actor in my own right too."

There are many who feel Govinda is underrated as an actor, a view echoed across the industry but which he does not endorse. He is happy enough with the way things are -- he'd hoped to be a star and has been just that 12 years running.

"I believe in progress and leave the issues of who is more talented to others," he says.

"I have found success the hard way. I don't take it for granted, but I don't delve deep into the philosophy of it too. As long as my body, my limbs are intact, I will work. I rely on God and myself, the rest don't make a difference to my life. Today, I am successful and you are here interviewing me. Tomorrow is another day."

EARLIER INTERVIEW:
Govinda!

Photographs of Govinda on the sets: Jewella C Miranda