'It is wrong to say he turned director to create starring opportunities for himself. He was happy with what he had.'
Not many know that Asrani was not only a versatile actor, but also a director.
He cast himself as the leading man in two of his directorials, Chala Murari Hero Banne (1977) and Salaam Memsaab (1979).
His Salaam Memsaab leading lady Zarina Wahab remembers Asrani with fondness.
"When Asraniji asked me to do Salaam Memsaab, I quickly jumped in," she tells Subhash K Jha.
"I think a lot of heroines said no, as they considered him a comedian. I had no such qualms. I readily said yes, and didn't regret my decision for even a second."
In Salaam Memsaab, Asrani and Zarina played street performers in love.
"We shot some of the songs in front of the Taj hotel in Mumbai. I remember Asraniji had a very good sense of music. R D Burman gave some good songs in Salaam Memsaab. I especially remember Hum Bhi Raahon Mein Khade Hain. It was tough to shoot on location.
"He had worked with some of the finest directors of the country, like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Gulzar... So he learnt from the best. He had a terrific sense of storytelling. It is wrong to say he turned director to create starring opportunities for himself. He was happy with what he had," she says.
Photograph curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
