4 months ago
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After Shabana Azmi, Ramesh Sippy and Asha Parekh, the latest guest to grace The Invincibles Season 2 couch is the legendary villain, Prem Chopra. While chatting with host Arbaaz Khan, the infamous villain got candid about many things from the bygone years, his experience working with Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, and Amitabh Bachchan, and lots more.
During the conversation, Prem Chopra also got candid about his many meetings with Mehboob and the filmmaker’s reaction to him playing a villain in films. Read on.
Prem Chopra on meetings with Mehboob
Talking about Mehboob being disappointed with him when he choose to pursue a career as a villain instead of a hero, Prem Chopra said, “Bada acha kissa tha. Son of India ke baad, main unhe milne gaya. Toh unhone kaha, ‘Acha hai tu, main tujhe break duga’. Isse badi baat kya hosakti thi. Unhone kaha, ‘Tum shaam ko roz aajaya karo yaha.’ Toh main shaam ko jaata tga 5-6 baje wapas apni naukari chod ke. Toh wahape corner mein baith jaata tha. Woh apne discussions mein rehte the, apne doston ke saath. Kaafi der tak aisa silsila chalta raha.” (During the shooting of Son of India, I went to meet Mehboob saab. He said, ‘You are good; I will give you a break’. What could be better than that? He told me, ‘Come here every evening.’ So, I would go there daily, around 5-6 PM after finishing my job and sit in a corner. He would be engaged in discussions with his friends. This continued for quite some time.)
Mehboob’s reaction to him taking up villain roles
He continued, “Fir maine socha, ‘Agar Mehboob saab ki tabiyat bhi kharab hai toh yaha par (kuch) naa hua toh mujhe wapas naa jaana pade aur naukari bhi choot jaaye. I had no guts to leave the job because I had no alternative. Picture release hui jab ‘Woh Kaun Thi’, Metro mein release hui. The chief guest was Mr. Mehboob Khan. Coincidentally the next day I was working here in Mehboob Studio for a Punjabi film. Khaas taur pe set pe aaye woh, ‘Saala tujhe bola tha galat kaam mat karna. Ab tune ek role karliya, ab picture bohot badi hit hai aur ab tu villain bann gaya.” (Then I thought, what if Mehboob saab’s health worsens, and if I don’t get a break here, I might have to go back, and I could lose my job… I had no guts to leave the job because I had no alternative. My movie ‘Woh Kaun Thi’ was released in the Metro and the chief guest for it was Mr. Mehboob Khan. Coincidentally, the next day, I was working in Mehboob Studio itself for a Punjabi film. He especially came to the set and said, ‘I told you not to do the wrong job. Now you’ve done its, the movie is a hit, and you have become a villain.’)”
Watch Prem Chopra’s full interview here:
