I feel like a 21 year old Time was when every Govinda film was a must watch. His name on the credits spelt entertainment. His impeccable comic timing made you laugh till tears ran out. His body and features looked to the rhythm when he danced. His loud clothes, his less than perfect form – you forgot all that and sat glued to your seat. He was a mass entertainer like no other. But all this was back in the ’90s. Thankfully, he’s still got the moves and his comic timing is still as good – as seen in Shaad Ali’s Kill/Dil and Raj and DK’s Happy Ending. The man can still act but his audience has moved on. But Govinda insists he’s far from being a has-been. He says he’s a better actor, a better person now than in his heyday. “I feel like a strapping 21-year-old now. I used to be emotional back then. But now I am full of optimism and zest. I have conquered my ever surging anger. Wearing a rudraksha mala around my wrist has helped. Now I am completely in control.” He’s happy that after a long hibernation, he has been able to have two back-to-back releases. Gone are the days when filmmakers used to queue up outside his house to sign him up. The lack of an entourage doesn’t bother him. “The changing times have changed peoples’ dealings with me. But those who know my true worth still believe in me.” He’s buoyed by the reports that the masses loved him in his latest outings. “The year 2014 was lucky for me. It marked my return after four years. At 21, I hit the silver screen with a bang. I did not look back for the next 14 years. Then followed my political stint as a MP. Now here I am, back in my real field, where I truly belong.” He’s stoic about the fact that he will be getting more supporting roles now than lead roles. Miniscule roles, like that in Happy Ending don’t matter to him as long as he gets appreciated. “I didn’t have a release these past few years. The producers were wary about casting me. They thought their films might flop. But the way the masses have received me has proved their conceptions wrong.” He’s not averse to doing negative roles and loved playing a grey character in Kill/Dil. He’s happy that the risk has paid off. “With time, the perceptions of the audience have changed. Now they do not expect a hero to be a paragon of virtues but are willing to accept him as a flawed character. It buoyed my confidence no end when people accepted my changed avatar in Kill/Dil.” Compared to the ‘80s and the ‘90s, he senses a sea change in the dynamics of the industry. “In my day, you could get by if you knew a little bit of dancing. Only action heroes needed a pumped up body. But today, you need to be an expert dancer and have a great body too. Heroes have become all-rounders.” He had put on fake six-packs in Happy Ending but insists he’s working hard to acquire the real thing. “I’m sweating it out at the gym and you will see the results shortly.” Looks like he’s cut off all ties from the past. For instance, David Dhawan and Govinda together had given many blockbusters but now they seem to have drifted apart. “I don’t think I will get to work with David. Because when recently my financer approached David, he said he didn’t see me as a hero anymore. He also did not want to give me a role apart from that of the hero.” Then, his Partner with Salman Khan did well but he reportedly turned down a offer to act with Salman. Govinda clarifies that he thought he was being offered an art film. “It’s a slot I cannot fit into – so I declined.” He will be shortly seen with Ranbir Kapoor in Jagga Jasoos in which we hear he is playing Ranbir’s father. “Wrong news,” insists Govinda, “I fail to understand why people indulge in spreading rumours. This affects the marketing of my other projects, like my own home production Abhinay Chakra, which is on the threshold of release.” Govinda was deeply attached to his late mother Nirmala Devi. Her passing away left a huge void in his life. “She never wanted me to step into filmdom. She wanted me to stay away from drinks, smoking and such, which I tried to with complete sincerity. Now that she is gone, I rarely drink,” he smiles. His daughter Narmada is poised to enter films as Tina Ahuja, via Second Hand Husband after a long period of waiting. “My bad phase affected her too,” sighs the adoring father. “Hope she emerges out of it the way I did. My son Yashwardhan has gone to London and enrolled in an acting school.” When asked about his notoriety of arriving late on the set he laughs, “Now that I am a producer myself I realise the value of discipline. But don’t forget I gave so many hits despite my so-called irregularities. I worked in 50 films simultaneously, did multiple shifts - which today sounds unbelievable.” He insists that the old Govinda is gone and the new Govinda is raring to go. “Initially, it was hard to ignore the frustrations. But now I have learnt to look at life more objectively. I have learnt to ignore the negative and to cultivate the positive. Things are looking up once more.” They sure are. filmfare/features/i-feel-like-a-21-year-old-8231-1.html
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 06:24:52 +0000