1981 में जब RK स्टूडियो में लगा सितारों का मेला, अमिताभ बच्चन बने वेटर, हकीकत में बदला आइडिया, साबित हुई साल की बड़ी हिट
New Delhi. Talking about star-stodged songs in Bollywood, Farah Khan’s title track is remembered, where dozens of stars were seen together. But do you know that this trend had started long ago? In the 1981 blockbuster film ‘Naseeb’, director Manmohan Desai had put more than half of the Bollywood industry in a frame through the song ‘John Jani Janardan’. The song consisted of veteran stars like Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Rakesh Roshan, Vijay Arora, Waheeda Rehman, Sharmila Tagore, Mala Sinha, Bindu, Simi Grewal, Simple Kapadia and Prema Narayan. This shooting lasted for a week in RK Studios and the story behind it is very interesting.
When Manmohan Desai made Amitabh Bachchan a waiter
Ketan told, ‘Papa was interacting with his writers. Someone asked why they are always nervous despite back-to-back hits? He replied, ‘You are celebrating success right now, while I am wondering how to raise the’ bar ‘next time.’ When asked what could be greater than the multi-starrer film, he suddenly said, ‘What if we collect the whole industry in a scene?’ Since Amitabh Bachchan was already playing the waiter in the song, he thought a party’s setup where all the stars come and Amitabh serve them.
17 -year -old Ketan Desai came a big responsibility
According to Ketan, he got nervous after hearing this. ‘I told Bapu (Manmohan Desai),’ It is easy to say, but how will it be done? ‘ They looked at me and asked, ‘Are you satisfied with your salary?’ When I said yes, he just said, ‘Then do it by doing it.’ He himself spoke to the big stars, while it was my responsibility to coordinate the rest of the stars, arrange costumes and manage logistics.
This 1981 film proved to be the highest grossing film of the year.
The fair was organized in RK Studio!
Preparations for this shoot had to be done very much. Ketan says, ‘The makeup rooms in RK Studio were less, so we made additional rooms and even toilets. Outside the studio, we created a fair -like atmosphere, where new things used to come every day. Kebab, veg and non-veg stalls, chaat counters… something new every day. Raj Kapoor Saheb had said, ‘Manmohan, I want a fair daily.’ Raj Saheb played an important role in making this song and he assured my father, ‘Don’t worry, I will handle the actors.’
Raj Kapoor used to reach the set first
Ketan says, ‘Raj Kapoor used to reach first every day and there was no delay due to his seniority. In the evening, he would give feedback to Manmohan. Manmohan wrote special lines from lyricist Anand Bakshi. For example, for Dharmendra, the atmosphere on the set of Lines highlighting his tough hero image was pleasant. During this time, amazing friendship was seen among the artists. Randhir Kapoor jokingly said, ‘We have become the most expensive junior artist in the world. Till now he used to play the lead role and now became extra. To this, Raj Kapoor replied seriously- ‘Whether in the film, the hero or junior artists, all are equal’.
‘John Jani Janardan’ set a new trend
The song was in the voice of Mohammad Rafi and became the iconic moment of Bollywood. ‘Naseeb’ rocked the box office, became the biggest hit of the year. Manmohan Desai’s films such as ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Dharam Veer’, ‘Parvarish’ and ‘Coolie’ were also superhit, but ‘John Jani Janardan’ set a new trend. Even today this song is the benchmark of multi-starrer sequence.
