The 25th anniversary screening of Sarfarosh (1999) was held by Radio Nasha on May 10 at a multiplex in Mumbai and was attended by the team of the film in full force. Before the screening, Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre, Naseeruddin Shah, Mukesh Rishi and director John Matthew Matthan came on stage and talked about interesting trivia of the film with RJ Divya Solgama.
Aamir Khan was asked what made him sign a film like this, which was a bit different from his other choices in the 90s. Aamir explained, “I was moved by the story. Also, it had an unusual plot. Usually, in mainstream cinema, we don’t get to see such films. It talks about some important issues but it does that sensitively. Hence, I was more than excited. I was sitting in a relaxed manner when I heard the narration.”
Aamir then revealed that he had doubts about whether John Matthew Matthan would be able to pull off the film, “John is an English name and he wanted to make a Hindi film. Also, he was an ad filmmaker who makes 30-second films. And he was attempting a three-hour movie. Hindi aati hai ki nahin yeh sab mujhe doubt tha! But within 15 minutes of the narration, my pose changed. I became very alert and fell in love with the material. I told John, ‘Script badi acchi hai. Tune aaj tak film direct nahin ki hai. Tu direct kar paayega ki nahin woh dekh lete hai’. And John did a wonderful job.”
Was doing Sarfarosh a risk for the superstar? Aamir answered, “All my films have been risky. I liked Dangal’s (2016) script and many wondered how I would pull off the role of an old man with a paunch. They said ‘Your audience wants to see you as a handsome man’. Even with Taare Zameen Par (2007), some people had doubts. It’s not that I was not nervous. With every film, I get nervous. But I was not nervous enough not to do the film. I was nervous but I was excited. Also, we had a great team of actors. It was a great opportunity to work with Naseer, Sonali, Mukesh ji and everyone.”
Naseeruddin Shah, who played the villain, raised laughs as he said, “Even today, I get messages on Facebook that ‘Tum asli Gulfam Hasan ho’!” Aamir laughed and remarked, “Aapka kaam itna accha tha ki log confuse ho jaate hai.”
Naseeruddin then remarked, “Sabse zyada khushi ki baat yeh hai ki Pakistan mein Sarfarosh bahut pasand ki jaati hai.” He turned towards Aamir and asked him, “Were you aware?” Aamir replied in the negative.
Naseeruddin Shah continued, “People in Pakistan love the film a lot. Though I haven’t been there in a long time. But earlier, whenever I visited the country, Sarfaorsh was always mentioned. I was shocked. Mujhe laga tha joote maarenge mujhe (laughs)!”
When asked how he came on board, he stated, “John narrated the story to me. Those were the days when mobile phones had just come in the market. John had a cell phone and it would keep ringing every 2 minutes! Yet, I was very gripped. I knew that it’d be an important film and an intelligent thriller. I also liked the revelation of my character. And I knew that the film would succeed. I was also sure that I’d have fun singing in Jagjit Singh’s voice (smiles).”
Also Read: Aamir Khan reunites with Ghajini co-star at Sarfarosh 25th anniversary celebration, watch
