‘Amitabh Bachchan was in hospital, Parveen Babi was in therapy,’ recalls producer Anwar Ali talking about ‘Khud-daar’: ‘It released after his Coolie accident and became superhit’

Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Coolie’ accident shook the entire nation because fans were worried about his health. While people prayed for him to get fine, his film ‘Khud-daar’ co-starring Parveen Babi had released when he was still recuperating in the hospital. There were a lot of hurdles during the making of ‘Khud-daar’ and as the film completes 43 years of release, producer Anwar Ali has opened up on it. For those not in the know, Anwar Ali is Mehmood’s younger brother. ‘Khud-daar’ was directed by Raveena Tandon’s father Ravi Tandon.


Talking about the hurdles in the making of the film, Ali said during a chat with Screen, “One lead artist was in therapy during the making of the film; the other lead artist was in the hospital during the release of the film. This was another unexpected challenge. “Behna” Parveen, as I respectfully addressed her, had to stay in America for six long months for treatment, and many producers had terminated her contracts for various films.”



He added further, “When I went up to her to discuss the same, she asked if I had come to ask for the signing amount back like the others. To her surprise, I replied on the contrary. I had gone to ask her how much time she needed and that we would wait for her. On her return, Yokohama Productions was the first to get Parveen’s dates, a sign of her gratitude and graceful nature.”


During the release of the film, Big B had an accident on the sets of ‘Coolie’ and the fact that he came back from that, was considered like a second life. Anwar Ali recalled the first thing which Bachchan asked him as he visited him at the hospital. He said, “Amitabh’s Coolie accident shook the entire nation. Everyone was praying; the queues outside the hospital to donate blood got longer by the day — seemed like eternity. Khud-Daar was released when he was still in the hospital. Five years from conceptualisation to film release—that’s what it took for Khud-Daar to see the light of day. The two-rupee note took me on a five-year-long journey, nothing short of an adventure. One cannot say time just flew because time did not fly. For a first-time producer of sorts partnering with a strong risk taker of sorts, it was our courage of conviction that saw us through and how. As I entered Amitabh’s hospital room, the first thing he asked was, ‘Bidoo, how’s the film doing?’ I said it’s a superhit.”


‘Khud-daar’ also starred Sanjeev Kumar, Vinod Mehra, Tanuja, Bindiya Goswami, Prem Chopra and Mehmood.