The father of a superstar was sacked for being a bad actor after just a
day. If that ignominy wasn't enough, he was asked to go home and give
birth to an actor. That part came true. The superstar in question is
Shah Rukh Khan. His father worked in K Asif's magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam
for a day.
"My father was selected for a Pathan's role and he
performed so badly that Asifsaab threw him out of the film. My father
would say to me when I was small that Asifsaab told him to go back home
and give birth to an actor," he said.
Those memories made SRK
emotionally attached to Mughal-e-Azam. Not just that, Mughal-e-Azam
inspires SRK the producer. "I think of Mughal-e-Azam which experienced
several hurdles but did not compromise on the passion of filmmaking,"
he said.
Last night SRK flew down from Malaysia where he is
shooting for Don 2 to unveil a documentary on the film. The
documentary has been produced by SRK's own production company, Red
Chillies Entertainment.
The actor, who has acted in remakes
such as Devdas and Don, is keen to preserve the sanctity of
Mughal-e-Azam. "Mughal-e-Azam is the mother of all films. Ma ka remake
nahi hota" (Mothers cannot be remade) Shah Rukh said. When asked which
role he would like to play if Mughal-e-Azam is remade, SRK said, "You
should ask this to the filmmaker who would dare to take the risk of
remaking the film."
"The originality and passion of the
filmmaker is so much in evidence in Mughal-e-Azam, that it cannot be
recreated during a remake," said SRK. He said the documentary was not
a piece of art but done to inspire people in showbiz about the need to
preserve classics which are part of history. Emperor Akbar's dialogue
in the film 'Salim tumhe marne nahi dega aur Anarkali hum tumhe jeene
nahi denge' is SRK's favourite.
The documentary contains
interviews with the family of K Asif and their efforts to keep the film
alive by colouring the movie, preserving the prints and asking painter
M F Hussain to make the film his muse and bring it on canvas. It also
carries interviews with Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor,
Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapur and
Amitabh Bachchan. SRK is the narrator.
When asked which of his
own films could be documented in the way Mughal-e-Azam had been done,
SRK said it could be Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge after 15-20 years.
SRK
then answered queries on his look for Don 2. "I admire women for
carrying off long hair so gracefully. For me this is really painful. I
am waiting for the shooting to end, he said.
He said his father worked in the film for a day and hence he had emotional attachment to it.
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