Who but Ashutosh Gowariker would have thought of casting Rajiv Kapoor, who hadn’t faced the camera in 30 years, in Toolsidas Junior? But Gowariker has constantly thought out of the box for his casting. “I got Zeenat Amanji to play a cameo as Sakina Beghum in my last directorial Panipat.I offered the yesteryears’ actress Kumkum the role that Ila Arun finally played in Jodhaa Akbar.”
Gowariker lives in Mumbai in a bungalow called Kumkum Villa , owned by the actress amd kept close ties with her till her death in July 2020.
“I’d dutifully offer her a role in every film directed by me right until her death. But she had vowed never to return to acting after marriage.And she stuck to her promise,” says Ashutosh who also cast Gayatri Joshi opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Swades. Gayatri was never seen in any film after this.
“All through my career as a filmmaker I’ve striven to think out of the box while adhering to the commercial language of filmmaking,” says Ashutosh.
Image source: IMDb, SpotboyE archives