EXCLUSIVE: On his 71st birthday, Sharat Saxena remembers his parents, working with Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Amrish Puri; opens up on the popularity of his Phir Hera Pheri character
One of the finest actors of our times, Sharat Saxena, celebrates his 71st birthday today. He has been working in films for nearly 47-48 years and has an envious body of work. He also has an envious body and it’s evident from the likes and appreciation that he gets for his pictures on his Instagram handle! Moreover, his recent performance in Vidya Balan-starrer Sherni (2021) got noticed and was loved. It’s no wonder that Sharat Saxena is being spoken about a lot and rightfully so!
On this joyous occasion, Bollywood Hungama decided to speak to the veteran actor about Sherni, his journey, his popularity on Instagram and a lot more.
What feedback did you receive for your powerful performance in Sherni?
The feedback has been great. Journalists and media ke logon ko mera kaam bada accha lag gaya. A lot of them called and interviewed me. I even did video interviews. This is the first time that it has happened in my life. Earlier, the writers in the film magazines used to avoid me. I had to request them to interview me and they used to decline. But for the first time in 50 years, the media has contacted me and is interested to speak to me. So it’s a very nice feeling.
Is it also the first time that your name appears in the top billing in the opening credits (His name is mentioned after Vidya Balan)?
Yes, because according to the writer of Sherni, my role was very important. The writer thought of me before while writing the script. Director Amit Masurkar resides in the same locality where I live. He saw me going to the gym and that’s when he decided that he’ll cast me in the film. When things materialized, they were kind enough to give the role to me.
You’ve mentioned earlier that your father, Krishna Narayan Saxena, had told you that he’ll allow you to work in films only after you complete your engineering degree. Could you tell us what did he have to say once you started working in films?
He was the most supportive father that one can expect. He encouraged me to try films and gave me financial support. For 6 years, he had to do that as I was not getting enough work. Fir 6 saal baad mujhe kaam milne laga and I was also able to sustain myself. Then when I got married and needed an apartment, my father was so kind that he took out all money from his provident fund account and gave it to me. He was hardly left with any money after that. I feel really bad about it that this is what my father had to do for me. But what to do? Uss zamane mein akal kam thi. I thought ke unke paas bahut kuch hoga. But woh gareeb aadmi ke paas kuch nahi tha.
He used to go around in our hometown Bhopal with a list of the films in which I had worked. He was so proud of me. Bhopal mein yeh baat famous ho gayi thi ki “Yeh Sharat ke pitaji hai jo aa ke list dikha denge”!
You’ve rarely spoken about your mother, Girija Saxena. Can you tell us something about her?
My mother was very educated. Before marriage, she had not completed her education. She hailed from Raipur. Her father was a diwan in a princely state. After marriage, when she was in Jhansi, she completed her intermediate. In Bhopal, she completed her BA as well as her MA in Sanskrit. Later, she wrote a lot of books in Hindi, including the novel ‘Razia Sultana’. She loved to write and was also very religious. Hum logon ko woh bitha kar Ramayan padhati thi. Hum log pareshan ho jaate the kyunki humein samaj mein nahi aata tha ki woh kya bol rahi hai (laughs). I had to buy a dictionary to understand! I was an engineering student and hence, my Hindi was weak.
Dharmendra’s brother Veerendra Singh is the one who gave you a break in films. Which was the film that served as your debut?
That film was titled Zahreelee (1977). The film stared Shailendra Singh and Neetu Singh. There were 4 villains - Jalal Agha, Imtiaz Khan, Ranjeet and I. Even Bindu ji acted in the film. The film took a long time and I am not sure whether it was released in cinemas. My first film to release was Benaam (1974), featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Moushumi Chatterjee and Prem Chopra. Prem Chopra’s voice in the telephone scene was dubbed by Kader Khan to mislead the audience.
You said you used to meet Yash Chopra regularly during struggling days. Do you also meet Aditya Chopra?
No, I have never met him.
Aren’t you in Yash Raj Films’ Shamshera? That’s what the IMDb states…
No, I am not. During Kala Patthar’s (1979) shoot in Pune, Aditya Chopra and Uday Chopra had come on the sets. They were very young. After that, I never saw or met Aditya Chopra. But I have done a lot of work for Yash Raj Films.
Is there any film that you regret doing?
Not at all. I have always respected work. People like us get work with great difficulty. Hence, whatever work I get becomes very important and sacred to me. Work is religion for me. Insaan ko kaam milta hai, toh kaam ki pooja karna bahut zaroori hai. Toh hum to poojari hai sahab apne kaam ke. Jo bhi kaam mila hai, humne dil laga ke kiya hai, chahe woh Gulshan Grover ke chamche ka kaam kyun na ho! Aap dekhna mere kaam ko. Maine chamche ka kaam bahut kiya hai.
Yes I am aware. In fact, you played Amrish Puri’s chamcha in a lot of films and later, for a film, where you had to beat him, you refused saying “Yeh mere boss reh chuke hai. Main inko nahi maar sakta”…
(Laughs) I was joking with him! But he took it seriously. He told me, “Sharat yaar, tum samaj nahi rahe ho. Yeh acting hai”. I played along and refused to beat him. I said, “Aapne toh dal badal diya. Aap jaa ke shareef aadmi ban gaye ho. Hum toh abhi bhi gunde hai”.
So you were a prankster on the sets…
Actually, Amrish Puri was also very funny, and also a loving person. I have worked with both him and his elder brother Madan Puri, whom we used to call Madd ji uncle. Once both of us were shooting for a film of Ravikant Nagaich, down South. I used to not sit with the lead actors and senior people like Madan Puri saab and others. Main alag baithta tha kyunki mujhe lagta tha ki meri koi aukaat nahi hai inke saath baithne ki. So I’d sit somewhere else and read a book. One day, Madd ji uncle got angry on me and asked, “Tum apne aap ko bahut special samajte ho kya ki alag baithte ho?” I told him, “Nahi saab, meri aukaat bahut choti hai aur aap log ke saath baithne ko darr lagta hai”. He ordered, “Nahi aaj se tum hamare saath baitho”. He became like a Godfather to me. He was such a sweet and good man. As for Amrish Puri, the first film in which we worked together was Alibaba Marjinaa (1977). Amrish Puri played the chief of the 40 thieves. Aur hum unn 40 choron mein se ek chor main bana tha (laughs)! If you see that film, you’ll see that I have worked in just 1 scene with Jagdeep.
Amrish ji and I then worked in Dostana (1980). For its climax shoot, we all went to London. Uss film mein Prem Chopra ke do chamche the – main aur Amrish ji. Me and Amrish Puri shared the same room in London. Years later, I worked in Shahenshah (1988), where Amrish ji was the main villain and Prem Chopra and I were his chamchas! Prem Chopra was so sweet that he didn’t mind at all. Even I had no problem since working with Amrish ji had always been a pleasure. After he worked in Mr India (1987), he became a superstar.
Is there any film that was offered to you but you couldn’t do and you wish you had done it?
(Laughs) Itni acchi kismat nahi thi hamari ki koi film mujhe mile aur maine na kari ho!
Your comic timing has also been great. One of the most memorable films in this regard was Baadshah (1999). The scene of you, Shah Rukh Khan and the dog was quite hilarious…
Usme hamara naam kutte ke naam pe rakha tha, Moti. That film was written as it was being made. It was great working with Shah Rukh Khan in Baadshah. That scene of the dog was also all improvised on the set. We were fighting duel using the car’s telescoping antennas! It had good comedy. Aisa bahut mazedaar kaam kiya hai. One more film I worked in was Akhiyon Se Goli Maare (2002). Harmesh Malhotra gave me the role of Babu Chhapri in that film. It was such a wonderful character. Aap jab bhi dekhoge, aap hasoge.
Another film where you were a riot was Phir Hera Pheri (2006). It was interesting to know that a certain Dr Sood was the inspiration behind Totla Seth…
Yes, Imtiaz Khan had told me about him. The way he had enacted it, I had imitated the same in Phir Hera Pheri.
Your dialogue has also become a famous meme…
I had no idea. My children showed me the jokes. And the memes are funny. I didn’t know that the character of Totla Seth has become so popular.
Your climax fight with Aamir Khan in Ghulam (1998) was memorable. I was recently watching it and went through the comments on YouTube. Some people had pointed out that your character got defeated a bit too easily despite being hefty and double the size of Aamir Khan’s character. Do you agree?
No, and there’s a reason for that. The subject is that of David and Goliath. When a not-so-hefty man is up against the wall, he can fight like a tiger. That was the concept. And there’s a shot where Aamir hits me and I start bleeding from the temple, from behind the ear. Many might not have noticed that injury but that was the point from where the villain starts to lose the fight. Also, the age difference was well established. The protagonist is young while I played a 45-plus person. So it’s understandable that a slightly older man, not used to doing regular practice, uski pitaai toh hogi.
Your pictures on your Instagram handle have been quite appreciated. However, trolling is an indispensable part of social media. Have you been trolled?
Sahab, hamari trolling nahi hoti. People like my pictures. I am quite surprised that people are finding me interesting enough.
What are you saying!
Dekhiye, mere paas 50 saal ka tajurba hai. For nearly 50 years, nobody showed interest in me. I was always on the side-lines. Suddenly, people are showering appreciation over me. Earlier, I was ignored. 30 saal tak toh main newcomer tha (laughs)! Whenever I’d meet someone, I had to introduce myself. Some people didn’t like to acknowledge that they know me. Agar aap kisi mamooli aadmi ko pehchaan kar respect de do na, toh kuch logon ko yeh karne se bura lagta hai. They’ll be like “how can I show that I know this person”. So they’ll ask “Kaun ho tum? Kahan kahan kaam kiya hai?” to make themselves look good.
The followers I have on Instagram are not from the film industry. The film industry people are very snooty. They feel they cannot say “Hello” to a person who they consider nobody. It happened then and happens even now. We are a very egoistic industry.
Speaking about your upcoming films, what are you working on currently?
Nothing. I am only working on my body!
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Reviewed by dsp
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August 17, 2021
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