'I Have Lived In My Father's Shadow'

'My father's friends told him that your son has done a film in which he has copied your voice. That's how he saw a couple of scenes of mine in Andaz Apna Apna.'
'He told me I shouldn't have done it.'

Shehzaad Khan found fame by imitating his own father Ajit in the cult classic Andaz Apna Apna, which re-released on April 25.

He tells Subhash K Jha, "My relationship with my father's was exactly like Ranbir Kapoor's relationship with Anil Kapoor in Animal."

You did many films before and after Andaz Apna Apna. Yet, you are known best for that. Did your mimicry of your father Ajit's style in that film impede your career?

No, it didn't. It was just a character that I was playing and I did many films as myself in my own voice.

But yes, this film became a kind of a launch pad for me, even though I had done films like Som Mangal Shani, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Purani Haveli and Abhi Toh Main Jawaan Hoon before that.

What was your reaction when you were first offered this role?

I was very excited to work with Raj Santoshisaab and producer Vinay Sinhaji.

I did my first film with Vinayji, Abhi Toh Main Jawaan Hoon. It was a video film.

He had promised me a good role in his feature film and he kept his word. 

Your father Ajit had worked in some of the most successful films from Mughal-e-Azam to Zanjeer. Was he a big influence on you?

My father was a very big influence on me.

I think he was one of the finest actors; I always idolised him.

My relationship with my father's was exactly like Ranbir Kapoor's relationship with Anil Kapoor in Animal.

Was it tough living in the shadows of such a formidable man?

Since I am his son, I have always been known as Ajitsaab's son and yes, I have lived in his shadow.

But I have done a lot of films in my own voice and in my own style.

Since I look like him and though he's physically not present in this world, people see him through me. In this industry, there is no father-son resemblance as close as mine and my father's.

I am very grateful to God for that.

Is it true that he was upset when you mimicked him in Andaz Apna Apna?

My father's friends told him that your son has done a film in which he has copied your voice. That's how he saw a couple of scenes of mine in Andaz Apna Apna.

He told me I shouldn't have done it.

At the same time, I told him that I was very passionate about my work. He used to see that I had struggled to reach where I did, and was still struggling.

So he understood because he had also struggled a lot in life.

After that, he never said anything about it.