Lyricist-turned-filmmaker Sudhakar Sharma recounted his experience of casting Hema Malini in his directorial debut. Despite budget constraints and his inexperience, Hema Malini agreed to star in the film after connecting with the script. She even offered to waive her fees and wear her own clothes to help the production, but the film was unfortunately never completed or released.
Lyricist-turned-filmmaker Sudhakar Sharma recently recalled an instance when Hema Malini, despite being at the peak of her career, agreed to work in his film as a debut director.
Help from Dharmendra’s brother
On the YouTube channel Laughing Colours, Sudhakar recalled how nervous he felt about approaching the actress for the role since he was just a first-time director. To gain confidence, he decided to seek help from Dharmendra’s brother, Ajit Singh Deol.
How Hema Malini came on board
The first name that popped up on Sudhakar ’s mind was Ajit Singh Deol, Dharmendra’s brother and coincidentally, a friend of Sudhakar’s. He even tried to make things easy by offering Ajit a role in the film, in a bid to get him close to Hema Malini. But Ajit gently informed him that it would not be easy, and advised him to approach Hema himself. Fortunately, Hema already knew the movie’s writer, Vijay Pandit. When Vijay narrated the story to her, she instantly connected with it and agreed to come on board.Despite having accepted the project, Hema was apprehensive of working with a first-time director. Only the power of the script persuaded her to say yes. But just when everything seemed to be coming together, Sudhakar Sharma knew he wouldn’t be able to afford her fee.
When budget became an issue
The director had admitted that Hema Malini’s remuneration was almost twice the budget he had. He spoke openly about his economic hardship and his offer to give her the little he could. Hema agreed she’d consider and Sudhakar fretted that she was just being polite in turning him down. Determined not to lose hope, he came up with another idea—Hema could shoot with him for three days, watch the rushes, and then decide if she wanted to continue. If not, she could let him go as director and instead take him on as an assistant in another project, ensuring that all his efforts wouldn’t go to waste.
Hema’s generous gesture
Sudhakar shared that she asked him to draft an agreement with her full fee, even though she was charging much less. Later, she promised to give him a letter confirming that she had waived off the remaining amount. He also remembered how Hema made it clear that she wouldn’t reach the sets before noon, as her mornings were reserved for dropping her daughter to college.After watching the rushes, Sharma realised that the film lacked glamour because he couldn’t afford designer outfits for the veteran actress. She stepped in to solve the problem and decided to wear her own clothes for the shoot. Just a week before completion, however, the project came to a halt. In a gesture of generosity, Hema even offered to waive off her fees, but despite her support, the film was never completed or released. Go to Source
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