Veteran actor Asrani passed away on Monday evening after prolonged illness. Known for his comic roles in films like Sholay, Chhoti Si Baat, Hera Pheri and Bhagam Bhag, among others, Asrani had earlier spoken about regretting his decision to star in the adult-comedy, Mastizaade.
In a 2016 interview with PTI, Asrani said that he was embarrassed to have worked in the Tusshar Kapoor and Vir Das starrer. “It's terrible and horrible (the vulgarity in films these days). I did not know that the film would be made like this. People can discern now, the multiplex-going audience says we don’t like this vulgarity and this phase will get over soon... It won’t work for long because basically we Indians are family-oriented people,” he said.
He added, “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.”
The actor had also opened up about getting type-casted in his career when he was mostly offered comedy roles. “Nobody wants to take a chance in films. If somebody worked well in comedy, they will repeat him in a similar role as a safe bet. Then there were the likes of L V Prasad, B R Chopra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar who gave me challenging roles and pushed boundaries,” Asrani said.
He added, “B R Chopra went against the common notion and cast me in ‘Nikaah’. People would wonder why he was casting me in a serious film, but he asked them to mind their own business, he was so convinced.”
Under Hrushikesh Mukherjee’s direction, Asrani appeared in acclaimed films such as Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke and Bawarchi. With Gulzar, Asrani worked in films like Koshish and Chaitali, which allowed him to explore serious and emotional roles.
