Mumbai: After working together in ‘Johnny Gaddar’, both Sriram Raghavan and Dharmendra teamed up for ‘Ikkis’ which turned out to be the Bollywood legend’s last screen performance who breathed his last at the age of 89 on November 24.
Raghavan, who grew up on Dharmendra’s movies, said his team was happy with the love they received after unveiling the poster from ‘Ikkis’ early in the day, before they received the news of Dharmendra’s death.
“When my flight landed in Mumbai, my producer called me and we headed to the crematorium. Suddenly in the night, it all overwhelms you,” Raghavan was quoted as saying by PTI.
Asked if ‘Ikkis’ will be the best tribute to Dharmendra, the director said, “He has got a substantial role, it’s very important in the film. He is a fine actor and he is wonderful in the film.”
“He basically missed being in front of the camera, he was fully on, charged up. This was the case with ‘Ikkis’ also. He would be a little tired but once the camera switched on, suddenly there was another side to him,” the director recalled.
Raghavan, who is also a huge fan of Dharmendra, said he paid a tribute to the actor in ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ by adding some of the songs from his iconic movies.
“I’ve seen all his films like ‘Anupama’, and many others. We would chat about his films and scenes. All my love for him and his movies came pouring out when we were making ‘Johnny Gaddaar’. So, all the background songs in the film are from his films ‘Naya Zamana’, ‘Yakeen’, ‘Bandini’, ‘Mere Gaon Mera Desh’ and many others.”
Remembering how nervous he was when he approached the actor for ‘Johnny Gaddar’, the director said, “I thought of him in the role of Shesu. I wanted to work with him. When I went to meet him, I was quite nervous. He was an MP and he was not actively working in films, so I didn’t know if he would do a neo-noir pulp story. I told him ‘I’m nervous’, and he said, ‘It’s good to be nervous as i
t keeps you on your toes’. So, that’s how we broke the ice.”
He continued, “I remember when I started narrating the story to him, he enjoyed it and kept asking, ‘What happens next’. I didn’t want to give spoilers but I told him the rest of the story and he said, ‘The second half is a bit weak’. I went back and thought, ‘Maybe he is right’ because we were too happy with what we had written.
“He said, ‘Something is missing, you think about that but otherwise it’s a very good story’. Then we came up with this character, of a cop in the film, and he comes in the second half, and is played by Govind Namdev. When I told him, I introduced this character. He said, ‘Very good. Can I play the cop instead?’ I told him, ‘That was not supposed to be the role you were to do’,” he added.
“After the film, we were in touch, and he would often ask me, ‘Have you found something?’ When I heard this story , I felt this is terrific and he will be wonderful in the movie. I went and narrated the story to him, and he loved it. He would often ask me, ‘When are you starting that film?’ But COVID-19 pandemic delayed things a bit,” the director said.
Raghavan wanted to work with Dharmendra in ‘Agent Vinod’, but it didn’t work out because of dates.
“We were shooting in different cities and had different schedules. It was a cameo for ‘Agent Vinod’, which was my next movie after ‘Johnny Gaddaar’. We are selfish as directors and we think, ‘I want this actor again’. When I got the story of ‘Ikkis’, I felt this was god sent,” he added.
Raghavan further shared that while working on ‘Johnny Gaddar’ and ‘Ikkis’, they would talk a lot about films of the past.
“I was interested in knowing about his experience of working with Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and other stalwarts. I would have great educational conversations with him,” he said.
“Our conversations were mostly about, ‘How was it to work with Bimal Roy?’ ‘How was it while working on ‘Chupke Chupke’ and things like that. It was all about film related educational trivia… I’m neither a foodie, nor into sports like him, so our conversations would revolve around movies of the earlier era,” he added.
Produced by Dinesh Vijan via his banner Maddock Films, ‘Ikkis’, a biopic on lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, India’s youngest Param Vir Chakra hero, is set to release in theatres on December 25.