Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 21 (ANI): Nostalgia alert! Subhash Ghai’s directorial ‘Karz’ was showcased at the Red Lorry Film Festival in Mumbai on Friday.
The screening saw the reunion of director Subhash Ghai and Karz’s leading ladies, Simi Garewal and Tina Ambani. Late Rishi Kapoor’s wife and veteran actress Neetu Kapoor, too, attended the screening and met with the ‘Karz’ team.
In this Subhash Ghai directorial, Rishi Kapoor took on the role of a man haunted by his past lives. ‘Karz,’ with its unique blend of reincarnation and thriller elements, demonstrated Kapoor’s versatility.
His intense performance, combined with its unforgettable soundtrack especially ‘Meri Umar Ke Naujawano (Om Shanti Om)’, made ‘Karz’ a standout film in his career.
In an earlier interview with ANI, Ghai recalled the difficulties he faced in persuading Simi Garewal to play the role of Kaamini in ‘Karz.’
He told ANI, “I faced the greatest difficulty in signing Simi because she refused to play this role. She said, ‘Subhash this story is good but I cannot play the role because I would be shown like a vamp.’ Then I had to eat at her place for five nights. I had to do PR to convince her; this is what happened. I told her think over it as that role was very good. She said that no, I would choose some other character. She did not have much work at that time but yet she had her convictions.”
He also shared that he assured Simi Grewal that he would maintain her dignity in the film.
“I made her understand that I would maintain your dignity and told her that she should not worry; I had seen this character differently and even you suit this role,” he added.
Sharing details of how he managed to bring actors on board to play different characters in the 1980 film ‘Karz’, he said, “When I was writing the script of ‘Karz,’ Kamini had an important role in it, who also has dignity. As a director-writer, it’s a lot of hard work to write a character that has dignity and also has done murder. She is a negative character, but at the same time, she is ambitious. When we have to create a character, we have to do a lot of hard work, which is not seen on the screen. Characters are so distinctive. The characters of Tina Munim and Simi Garewal are different. And ‘Karz’ is a music replay of the story; you replay the story through music.”T
Talking about the success of the film, Subash said, “I am very surprised that this film was released in 1980, today, even kids know me as ‘Karz wale uncle.’ Even today, people watch it, enjoy it and I’m surprised the film didn’t get very immediate results at the box office at the release time. But people told me that you had made the film 10 years before it should have been made. Even today, the picture is as fresh as it was in 1980.” (ANI)
