Earlier this week, Bollywood lost one of its most well-known and versatile gems when actor and filmmaker Govardhan Asrani breathed his last. On October 16, he was admitted to the hospital due to breathing issues. On October 20, Asrani died at the age of 84 because of fluid accumulation in his lungs. In his magnificent career, which spans almost 60 long years, the actor gave us several memorable performances — may it be as ‘angrezo ke zamane ke jailor’ in Sholay (1975) or Murari in Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007). But in his grand filmography, which is a masterclass for any actor, there was one film that Asrani regretted being a part of — Sunny Leone-starrer Mastizaade (2016).
Sunny Leone, Asrani and Vir Das
Almost a decade ago, Asrani played the role of Sunny Leone’s father in Mastizaade. With Sunny in a dual role, the film also stars Tusshar Kapoor and Vir Das in the lead. Back in 2016, sharing how he regretted doing the film, Asrani told HT City, “Mujhe mastizaade main kaam karna pada, mujhe sharam aayi (I had to work in Mastizaade, I felt embarrassed).” When asked what compelled the actor to join the team, Asrani shared, “It was the director, Milap (Zaveri) who I found really energetic initially. Par jab shooting karne pe aye to mujhe laga baap re ye ka hai? I had never spoken such double-meaning dialogues, and it was embarrassing for me.”
Talking to PTI back then, Asrani had shared, “It’s terrible and horrible (the vulgarity in films these days). I did not know that the film would be made like this.” Sharing how humour had changed along the years in films, the late actor had stated, “Mehmood sahab had started using double meaning dialogues and some of them worked, so others tried to cash in on the formula. It was still double meaning then but now it is vulgar, all that remains is taking clothes off.”
Well, Asrani may have left us but his craft and memory continue to live on in the pages of Bollywood’s history.