Saawan Kumar Birth Anniverdary: Why was Rajesh Khanna initially hesitant about super-hit ‘Souten’ ? veteran film-maker Saawan Kumar Tak reveals to Chaitanya Padukone

Do you know that, Super-Star Rajesh Khanna was initially hesitant and skeptical about the 1983 film-titled 'Soutan' (which later emerged as a Silver Jubilee super-hit)! Sawan Kumar Tak, the producer-director of 'Soutan' revealed, “It is because Kaka-ji (Rajesh Khanna) felt that the title 'Soutan' sounded too negative and might possibly turn away women and family audiences. Is.  But I was confident and adamant, even Dimple Kapadia insisted that it is a great title! When the whimsical musical film 'Soutan' with emotional undercurrents which also highlighted socio-cultural-caste values ​​released, it received overwhelmingly positive response from both female and family audience, Super-actor Kaka Ji Mere Box Ki Much appreciated- Bollywood veteran 'showman' remembers filmmaker-lyricist-star-mentor Sawan Kumar Tak, who celebrated his 85th birthday (August 9) at home with close relatives and well-wishers. few days back.   Known for his few but witty responses, Tak said, “Actually I feel, I am only '58 years young' and still have my creative-active spirit. Senior age can also be a reversible number” he smiles. It was truly a 'chai-pe-bulaaya-hai' situation when my good friend Ashwin Thakkar (Rajesh Khanna's ex-manager-secretary) and I had 'chai with Saawan-ji' special chat session at his sprawling Juhu It was the evening of Habitat. When asked why he had this fix for 'Soutan' or 'Bewafa' in the titles of several films such as 'Soutan Ki Beti' and 'Sanam Bewafa', the outspoken Sawan justifies.   “The bold tag 'Soutan' and 'Bewafa' have 'anti-heroine' negative shades that are impactful and impactful. It always proves to be a curiosity-attraction for the visitors. In fact, I even made an adventure film 'Khalnayaka' (1993) in which Anu Aggarwal gave a wickedly captivating screen performance as the vengeful, femme fatale defying her 'Aashiqui' lover-girl image, “Wonderful Claims lyricist Saavn who confesses that 'Ishq' has mostly been his off-screen inspiration. “By nature, I am impulsive and spontaneous and I get mental flashes of creative electricity. This is how I was able to understand the visuals and write simple-motivational lyrics of many evergreen songs like 'Zindagi pyar ka geet hai issue har dil ko gaana padega- Zindagi gum ka sagar bhi hai, hans ke us paar jaana padega'. , Or the unique situational song “Isi liye, mummy ne meri, tumhe chai pe bilaya hai”. Of course, abundant credit also goes to Usha Khanna ji for composing the catchy, melodious tunes,” informs Sawan ji who made her directorial debut with 'Gomti Ke Kinare' (1972), in which she played the legendary icon Meena. Kumari was directed!  “Working there with such a humble actress-poet Meena Kumari-ji, I learned so much. It was because of him, that I laid a solid foundation for my career,” enthuses Sawan-ji, who became the first Bollywood film to feature the breathtaking blue-green waters and exotic exotic locales of Mauritius in his film 'Soutan'. Was a director.