A multi-starrer featuring some of Bollywood’s biggest names, director Ravi Chopra’s family drama Baghban (2003) was a massive success upon release, but it hasn’t aged well. Although the film, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, and Mahima Chaudhry among others, emerged as a blockbuster, Ravi Chopra’s wife Renu Chopra recently revealed that finding a distributor for it was challenging, as most found it old-fashioned.
Mentioning that the film failed to gain traction during its first four days in theatres, she said that its fate took a dramatic turn after that. “Baghban did not have a good run on its first four days (Friday-Monday) in theatres. Ravi wondered why he made that film. But its fate changed on Tuesday and the movie picked up,” she shared during a chat with Pinkvilla.
Opening up about the challenges they faced in bringing the film to theatres, Renu explained that Salman Khan’s involvement proved to be a turning point. “Despite the film being ready, no distributor wished to take up Baghban. They called it old-fashioned and this was a time when Amit ji was on a decline and had just made a comeback with Mohabbatein and KBC. They all said no one would touch it,” she recalled.
Renu added, “Then someone suggested bringing Salman Khan on board for a guest appearance — the only part left to shoot. Ravi knew Salman, but not as well as we do now. Ravi went to his house to meet him. Salman lives in a two-room apartment and is the simplest man. The three Khan brothers were in the gym and one by one, they came out wearing shorts, making Ravi ji feel overdressed. Then Salman came out, heard his role and immediately agreed to do the film. He said, ‘I love this boy (Alok Malhotra, the character he eventually played). My concept of my parents is exactly this. I worship them and I will do the role.’ He did not ask how much we would pay him and simply asked where he needed to come for the shoot,” she shared.
Recalling that all of Salman Khan’s scenes were set in London, Renu Chopra said his only request was not to be called for work before 11 am, promising that he wouldn’t leave until the job was done. Renu also fondly recalled how Salman would invite them to dinner every evening. “You can’t tell Salman what to order for dinner, because he would take over the table and order the whole menu. On the last day, when the billings were being done, we sent someone to clear the expenses, but by then, Salman had paid his bills,” she added.
Renu also revealed that even Ravi Chopra’s father, legendary filmmaker BR Chopra, was sceptical about the project, believing the story was outdated. Originally written by BR Chopra two decades earlier, the narrative was later reworked by Dr Achala Nagar. “Ravi’s father forbade him from making Baghban saying it won’t work, since he wrote the story 20 years prior. Whenever he considered making the movie, people told him that films like Avtaar and Zindagi (with similar themes) had already been made. But for Ravi, it wasn’t like Avtaar or Zindagi, but a love story of an elderly couple. Then he took the story and revamped it. Today, there’s a big controversy going on about the movie, but back then, Baghban received enough recognition from the youths of that era,” she added.