Last Updated:
Suniel Shetty reminisced about working with Divya Bharti in Mohra before her untimely death. He also addressed Anil Kapoor’s ‘50% waale heroes’ comment.
Suniel Shetty talks about working with Divya Bharti in Mohra.
Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar-starrer 1994 film, Mohra, turned around his fate in the film industry. Directed by Rajiv Rai, it was a blockbuster success. The film originally starred Raveena Tandon as the leading lady; however, not many know that the late actor Divya Bharti was initially cast in the role. Divya had even shot a few sequences with Suniel when her untimely death, just a week after filming began, brought the project to an abrupt halt. The Border actor recalled working with Divya in her last days.
Suniel Shetty spoke about working with Divya Bharti in Mohra. He told Radio Nasha, “We shot at Belgaum jail but that girl was absolutely fearless. She was full of life and masti. Hum Rajiv [director Rajiv Rai] ko kaise sata sakte hain, Shabir [Screenplay writer and producer Shabbir Boxwala] ko hum kaise sata sakte hain, hamari planning wahi rehti thi (How could we trouble director Rajiv Rai and Shabbir Boxwala, that was always our plan). What should we do to get people to laugh and lighten the atmosphere? She was an absolute treat to work with.”
Suniel Shetty on Anil Kapoor’s ‘50% waale heroes’ comment
Suniel also reacted to Anil Kapoor calling him and Akshay Kumar “50% waale heroes” after the poster of Mohra was released. The actor said in the same interview, “Yes, there was this type of dialogue—I had saw it in the newspaper too. Lekin voh star the toh bol sakte the. (But he was a star, so he could say that.) He meant that a single hero should have been taken instead of two actors. Jawani mein hum sab ne kahin na kahin dialogue mara hai and media ko maza aata tha usse pick karne mein (We all said some dialogues in our youth and media had fun picking it up).”
He added, “But he is someone whom I have always admired, and he is a great actor. He is a very good human being once you get to know him. He is a very encouraging man. Toh bura toh lagta hi hai, lekin kahin na kahin hume bhi pata tha ki hum voh stars bane nahi hai unke jitne bade nahi hai lekin kabhi na kabhi kuch na kuch hoga aur banenge (It did feel bad, but deep down we knew we hadn’t become stars like him or reached his level. Still, we knew that sooner or later something would happen, and we would), and Mohra was a big game changer for us—especially for me.”
Apart from Suniel, Akshay and Raveena, Mohra also starred Naseeruddin Shah, Raveena Tandon, Poonam Jhawer, Raza Murad, Paresh Rawal, Gulshan Grover, and Sadashiv Amrapurkar.
- First Published: