Shabana Azmi Recalls When Rajesh Khanna Stood In Queue With Dalda Dabba And Slept On Floors During Challenging Shoot

In a recent interview, Shabana Azmi reflected on the challenges she and Rajesh Khanna faced while shooting for the 1983 film 'Avtaar'.

Shabana Azmi recalled the difficulties of filming a song at the Vaishno Devi shrine.

Source : Screengrab from YouTube

New Delhi: Many consider Rajesh Khanna the "first superstar" of Hindi cinema due to his enormous popularity. Shabana Azmi, who co-starred with him in the 1983 film 'Avtaar', recently commented on the challenges they encountered as a team, especially when shooting the popular song 'Chalo Bulaawa Aaya Hai'.

Speaking with Radio Nasha Official, veteran actress Shabana reminisced about the difficult conditions they faced while filming at the Vaishno Devi shrine. “Shooting for ‘Chalo Bulaawa Aaya Hai’ for Avtaar was filled with hardships. During those days, there were no helicopter services, we had to trek to reach the temple. There were no toilets on the way. It was an extremely difficult situation,” the actress shared.

Despite the difficulties, Shabana appreciated Rajesh Khanna for not using his fame to get preferential treatment. She said, “Can you imagine Rajesh Khanna, a superstar, standing in queue with Dalda dabbas? It was also extremely cold at that time. We used to sleep on floors in dharamshalas. We had mattresses with about 12 layers of blankets. We used six layers of blanket to cover ourselves, and we were still cold. At that point in time, Rajesh Khanna couldn’t be like ‘I am a superstar’. We all did it in the spirit.”

Shabana Azmi Recalls Funny Incident with Rajesh Khanna

Shabana Azmi remembers her relationship with Rajesh Khanna, with whom she collaborated on around seven films. She recounted a funny event that occurred during an engagement with the media. According to Shabana, Rajesh Khanna showed up to a press conference hobbling and with his ankle wrapped. A journalist questioned him, and he fabricated a story about falling off a horse while filming a scene.

As a light-hearted gesture, Rajesh told Shabana to be quiet by kicking her beneath the table. Shabana added, “Later, he said, ‘I tripped and fell. Why do you have to tell the truth always? Obviously, I am not going to tell the journalist that, ‘Mera paon dhoti mein phas gaya toh mai gir gaya.”