David Dhawan on longtime collaborator Kader Khan: 'No actor or writer knew the Bombay language like he did'

Bollywood’s King of comedy David Dhawan and the “king of improvisation” Kader Khan delivered numerous consecutive hits in the ’90s and early 2000s. Dhawan feels that as a writer, Khan had an unmatched flair for penning emotional and dramatic sequences. “There is absolutely no replacement,” said Dhawan in a chat with Firstpost. Khan died of a prolonged illness on 31 December.

[caption id=“attachment_5818721” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Govinda and Kader Khan in a still from Dulhe Raja. YouTube[/caption]

The filmmaker’s professional relationship with Khan began with Bol Radha Bol in 1992_,_ and continued with Aankhen in 1993 and Raja Babu in 1994. Dhawan, in collaboration with Khan, directed Govinda-starrers like Dulhe Raja, Coolie No.1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Aunty No.1, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Raja Babu and Khuddar among others. Dhawan and Khan’s last film together was Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar- starrer, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. 

“The first time I saw Kader bhai perform in my film, Bol Radha Bol, I was totally aghast with the level of his performance. As an actor he was king of improvisation. It was such a difficult role in Bol Radha Bol because his character becomes blind after 6 pm. His conviction was very strong. He wouldn’t just do what I told him, he would improvise wherever needed and come up with something very different. He would read a lot. He had a great command over his language, his Urdu was fantastic,” said Dhawan.

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“And what was really strange and interesting about him was that he was a very serious person on sets. He would just focus on his work and alongside, he would keep writing. Once the shot was ready, he would give his shot and go back to writing,” said Dhawan, who collaborated with Khan in over 15 films. “He’d play the most challenging characters with such conviction. Writing for commercial cinema, Kader bhai was the king. Nobody, no actor or writer knew the Bombay language the way he did. I don’t think anybody can replace him, we can’t get an actor like him again. We did 15 movies together, all of them were hits. Our relationship changed from a professional one, to one that was personal. I was like a family to him and he treated me very well. I learnt a lot from him,” said the director.

The fact remains that Khan had worked with every major actor since the 1970s. Starting with late Rajesh Khanna, the actor-writer worked with Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Feroz Khan, Anil Kapoor and Govinda. As an actor who aced comic avatars as well as villainous ones, Khan was unparalleled. Some of the funniest lines spoken by Bachchan, for instance, were Khan’s creation. “For every hero, Kader bhai has contributed a lot. He used to write for Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai at the same time. He was the common link for Amitabh Bachchan movies. Most of Bachchan’s hits like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Sharaabi… have been written by him. The character Anthony Gonsalves was created by Kader bhai. He would be writing one comedy and one drama at the same time. His versatility was unbelievable. He was a teacher, he did plays followed by small movies. He was from a poor family and his rise was something else only,” said Dhawan, who believes that Khan did not get his due. “But I don’t know the reason for that, probably because he wouldn’t socialise or network. After shoots, he would sit in his car and leave. Now, I hear that he wanted to become a director but he never ever told me that,” said the director.

Reminiscing about Khan’s working style, Dhawan said while laughing out loud, “Kader bhai had a two-wheeler and he would ride it himself with his secretary Jamshed sitting on the backseat. He would ride while saying and dictating the dialogues to Jamshed, who would be writing it. He was talented to the core.”

Dhawan also remembers the advice Khan would give him. “He would always tell me that I should never leave my sincerity or take filmmaking lightly. He would push me against the wall saying it’s good to feel insecure,” said Dhawan.

The director gets emotional when asked if they were in touch. “Kader bhai had become very unwell. I could not keep in touch with him but I was in touch with his son, his family. He wasn’t able to talk. He suffered a lot over the last 10 years. He was also losing his memory,” said Dhawan.