Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar has worked with celebrities of all kinds through the course of his career, and in a new interview, he recalled his experience working with actor Govinda, who was at the peak of the Bollywood pyramid in the ’90s. Prahlad recalled Govinda’s famous tardiness, and said that the actor once assured him that he’d make it in time for a shoot even though he was thousands of miles away.
Chatting with Cyrus Broacha on the sidelines of the launch of his autobiography, Prahlad recalled anecdotes about everyone from Sachin Tendulkar to Amitabh Bachchan. Asked about working with Bollywood actors, Prahlad said, “They were all okay. Govinda came 24 hours late to the set…” A colleague of his corrected him, and said that Govinda was, in fact, a full two days late. Prahlad continued, “We were on a big set in Hyderabad, of all the places. And he was supposed to come from Srinagar. He said, ‘Don’t worry, main time pe aa jaunga (I’ll be there on time)’. I said, ‘Kaise ayega tu? Tera flight nahi hai (How? You don’t even have a flight)’. He said, ‘Gaadi mein baith ke aunga na (I’ll come in a car)’.
Also read – How a ‘scared’ Govinda told ‘always punctual’ Amitabh Bachchan he can’t come on time for shooting: Bade Miyan Chote Miyan turns 25
Prahlad laughed, “From Srinagar to Hyderabad in eight hours, according to him. But anyway, he turned up two days late. But he turned up.” Recalling another anecdote about working with Govinda, Prahlad said, “He was very good. I remember he once came on a set of mine… We had this huge Titanic set, with him and a girl on the prow. He comes in, looks at the set, and says, ‘Jaldi karein? I have to go’. I said, ‘No, you have to finish this. The whole set is standing for you’.”
He continued, “We got him to the top on a ladder, it was almost two stories high. Then, I removed the ladder, and we kept shooting. He kept saying, ‘Mujhe jaana hai‘. I said, ‘Theek hai, jaa tu, koodi maar‘. So he just shut up and did the shoot.” Govinda’s disregard for punctuality has often been discussed by his contemporaries. His frequent co-star, Raveena Tandon, told ETimes last year, “I would reach the set at 9, knowing that he (Govinda) would come at 2.30-3.”
In his defence, Govinda told Maniesh Paul that people wanted to pull him down, hence the rumoured unprofessionalism. “When I was at the peak for 14-15 years, when everything was going in my favour, nobody raised these issues… This is the film industry, people change with time, and so do equations,” he said.
Click for more updates and latest Bollywood news along with Entertainment updates. Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the world at The Indian Express.
Govinda once turned up for work 48 hours late, thought he could drive from Srinagar to Hyderabad in 8 hours: Prahlad Kakkar – The Indian Express
Leave a comment