Happy Birthday Sajid Nadiadwala: The Silent Showman

When filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala's grandfather Abdul Karim Nadiadwala came to Mumbai from a city called Nadiad, in Gujarat, little did he know that one day, his grandson, who used to watch films since he was a child, would become one of the most prolific and powerful producers of today’s times – working with some of the biggest brands in Bollywood. Yet, Sajid works in quiet solitude – preferring to remain the silent strength behind his production house than showcasing his work with grandness or splendour. He is the silent showman who, today, brings a legacy of some of the best movies in Bollywood under his production house, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment (NGE) and three highly successful franchises to his credit.

 

Sajid is known to produce family entertainers for the masses and classes with great content that tell a story. Bollywood’s biggest and best directors, including Nitesh Tiwari, Vishal Bharadwaj, Kabir Khan, Ahmed Khan, Shirish Kunder, David Dhawan, Imtiaz Ali and Abhishek Varman, have worked under the NGE banner. As Sajid Nadiadwala’s production house completes 65 successful years, making it one of the biggest and most sustainable production houses in India, Sajid celebrates his birthday today, one of his biggest brands – the third part of the Baaghi franchise is set for a grand release a couple of weeks later on February 6. 

 

While the Nadiadwala's have been in the film industry for three generations (from 1955), and have produced many movies including, Inspector, Taj Mahal and Chitralekha, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment was established by Sajid at the young age of 25 – though he came with a wealth of experience. He started his career at a very young age, first joining J.P. Dutta as an assistant director on Ghulami when he was 21 and later as a production assistant in his uncle's production house. Sajid could have turned director years ago but he bided his time.

 

With Kick (2014), Sajid turned his hand to direction. The film turned out to be one of Bollywood’s biggest grossers - with only India grossing ₹309.89 crores. His first production, under his banner, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Zulm Ki Hukumat (1992), starred two of the biggest stars of the 90s - Dharmendra and Govinda. Since then, the filmmaker has never looked back, churning out some of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood – including Highway, 2 States, Jeet, and Heyy Babyy, Super 30 and Chhichore. Apart from Baaghi 3, Sajid has one of the best line-ups of movies a producer can have for 2020-2021 – Ranveer Singh’s 83, Akshay Kumar’s Bachchan Pandey, Salman Khan’s Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali and his own much-anticipated Kick 2 with Salman again.

Interestingly, Sajid is perhaps the only Bollywood producer who has created three highly successful franchises, earning over a thousand crore in total - Judwaa, Judwaa 2, the Housefull and Baaghi series, with each one being more successful than the other. All offering a variety of entertainment – from comedy and drama to action and emotion. The pressure is on Sajid to direct the next Kick sequel, but he remains calm and confident – till the script and screenplay is ready, he will not make a hasty announcement. Perhaps that remains one of his core strengths – coming from a background of direction and production, he remains involved in each and every part of filmmaking with his team and plans his every move. His sound script sense, technical expertise, top-notch production values and financial know-how are an asset for a newbie director who can relax and just focus on his movie.


Sajid is known to be one of the best producers in the business, sparing no money or effort to make his movies raise the ante every time. Perhaps why Sajid has created his most successful franchise, Baaghi, today, with his hero, Ronnie, aka Tiger Shroff. He is known to pull out all the stops to make the franchise an action-packed entertainer – whether it means traveling from Bangkok to Syria. Each time a trailer of the Baaghi franchise is launched, the film's action becomes much-talked about. While Baaghi grossed ₹100 crore, Baaghi 2 made ₹257 crores in India and worldwide, at the box-office. Baaghi 3, this time is not just action but has a strong, emotional thread running through it and shot in some of the most beautiful locales all over the world. The expectation keeps rising with every addition to the Baaghi franchise.

Today, Baaghi 3 is one of the most-awaited films of 2020. Sajid was the first Indian filmmaker to sign Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone for his movie, Kambakkht Ishq, starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Today his Baaghi series, Tiger’s slick and stylish action and Hollywood-style execution of filmmaking is being compared to that of Stallone’s Rambo and Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible series – some of the biggest and best of Hollywood franchises. Like Rambo and Ethan Hunt, Ronnie Pratap Singh has arrived.


Talking about his experience in the thrilling, action-filled, Baaghi 3, and expressing his gratitude for people showing their warmth and appreciation for the trailer, Tiger wrote on social media, “Every day I used to wake up anxious for the challenges the day ahead had to offer and every night I used to be carried to my room by my amazing team. I don’t think we could have conceived our honest effort and vision if it wasn’t for Ahmed sir and his team, and Sajid sir’s full support and backing.”

It speaks volumes for a filmmaker when his team speaks of him with love and respect. They know that for Sajid Nadiadwala, his movies mean not just quality but fultoo paisa vasool entertainment - from the frontbenchers in single-screen theaters to the family crowds in the multiplexes. His birthday is a day for remembering what he has brought to the cinema and movie-making – a magical charm and something always new for the audiences to see. Will Baaghi 3 do that? Yes, and much more.


Image Source:-Instagram/sajidnadiadwala_fanpage