‘Anand’ continues to be one of the most memorable movies of Rajesh Khanna. The fact that the film saw Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan share screen space together remains special. ‘Anand’ was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, known for making some other iconic movies like ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Golmaal’, ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Abhimaan’ among others. The legendary film-maker was also known to be quite disciplined.
In a recent interview, actor Raza Murad has given a testament of that, as he recalled how the director had locked Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna in a room till the shoot was completed. He said, “Back then, telephones used to be in the studio’s office. There weren’t any mobile phones at that time. The shot was ready, and Hrishikesh ji called Rajesh Khanna to the set. But an assistant informed him that Rajesh ji was on a call. Rajesh Khanna eventually arrived, and Hrishikesh ji said, ‘Arey aao, shot ready hai. Chalo, baith jao (Come, the shot is ready, sit down quickly).’”
Raza added, “When Hrishikesh ji called Amitabh Bachchan to the set, the assistant again informed him that Amit ji was also on a call. When Amit ji finally arrived, Hrishikesh ji didn’t hold back. He reprimanded both Rajesh ji and Amit ji, saying, ‘Do you know that every time you go to make a call, the producer loses Rs 4,000 for each minute you spend talking? You may think it’s just five minutes, but that costs the producer Rs 60,000 in total. From now on, no one steps out until the song is completed.’”
The actor also revealed that Hrishikesh Mukherjee made sure that everyone on the set followed his instructions. He said, “Hrishikesh ji asked the watchman to put a lock on the studio door and instructed him to open it only when the song’s shoot was finished. Nobody left the set until 12:30 a.m., when the song was finally completed. Who has the courage to do something like that now?”
‘Anand’ was said to have loosely been inspired from Ikiru, and according to reports, the film was initially supposed to star Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor.
