Filmmaker
Subhash Ghai
, renowned for launching and collaborating with
Bollywood legends
across various generations, has crafted unforgettable films like Karz with Rishi Kapoor, Saudagar with
Dilip Kumar
and Rajkumar, and Pardes with Shah Rukh Khan.
In a chat with Arbaaz Khan, Ghai shared that he has worked with actors who weren’t stars at the time but possessed their own unique qualities.
He recalled working with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Pardes’, where he sometimes felt that Shah Rukh did scenes beyond what was written in the script. Despite their differences and occasional arguments, he acknowledged that when Shah Rukh is truly performing, he can significantly enhance a scene.
Explaining his definition of a ‘
good actor
‘ and why Shah Rukh Khan fits this category perfectly, Ghai said, “I have worked with actors who weren’t stars at the time but they had their own qualities. For instance, I have worked with Shah Rukh in Pardes and sometimes I felt like he lifted scenes from what was written in the script. Though we had our differences and we would argue; but if he is really performing, he can take a scene and lift it.”
Subhash reserved the ‘great actor’ category for legends like Dilip Kumar, stating that
great actors
can perform a poorly written scene so well that people believe it is a great scene. He mentioned that these actors rise far above the scene itself. According to him, Amitabh Bachchan and sometimes Rishi Kapoor also had this ability, where even if the film was bad, their performances were always exceptional.
When asked about casting Jackie Shroff in Hero, Subhash Ghai explained that Jackie was a good fit for the character due to his face, life struggles, and honesty. Ghai acknowledged that Jackie was initially a poor actor, but he took it upon himself to teach him the craft. Over time, Jackie learned and improved, eventually becoming a good actor.
