30 Years Of Khalnayak. Anil Kapoor wanted to play the role of villain, Subhash Ghai was tense before the release of the song ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’

Today complete 30 years have passed since the release of Subhas Ghai’s superhit film ‘Khalnayak’. The film was released in theaters on August 6, three decades ago. One was that time and today is the time. Neither the film nor its songs have reduced the craze of the people. Songs from the film like ‘Nayak Nahi Khalnayak Hoon Main’ and ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’ are still played on DJs at weddings. People start humming them as soon as they hear their tune. To celebrate 30 years of Khalnayak, producer Subhas Ghai has an exclusive chat on the film and some unseen aspects related to it.

Anil Kapoor wanted to be a ‘Khalnayak’

During a conversation with E Times, Subhash Ghai said that the casting of Khal Nayak has a story of its own. The filmmakers were just certain about the name of the actor to play the character of ‘Ram’, the hero of the film. For ‘Ram’, he wanted to cast actor Jackie Shroff, which he did. But he was unable to finalize the names of the actors for the rest of the characters. Subhas said, ‘Ram, of course, was Jackie Shroff. This character was the easiest to play. I was very clear about that. Anil Kapoor was keen to play the villain. He came to my house two or three times. Recalling the conversation with Anil Kapoor told Subhas Ghai, ‘He told me that Subhash ji, I am very eager to do this role. I told him that it will not suit you. You will go, I will go and the film will also go.

Subhash Ghai was tense before the release of ‘Choli Ke Peeche’

The music album of the film ‘Khalnayak’ proved to be a big hit in that era. However, ahead of its release, the makers were under a lot of tension over the songs of the film, especially ‘Choli Ke Peeche’. But soon after the release of the music album, the title track of the film and the song ‘Choli Ke Peeche’ proved to be chartbusters. Recalling the conversation he had with Anand Bakshi about Khalnayak’s songs, Subhash said, ‘He called me up at night with the lyrics of the song and I was shocked. I said, “No, we can’t make it.” He started laughing. But yes, I was under a lot of stress, so we decided to make it an artistic song. There were many organizations that opposed the song. But I always asked him to listen to it completely. Today, the song has acquired cult status and is enjoyed by the youth.’