Mom’s prayers paid off : Govinda

Your first hit is a lot like first love. You never forget it. I still remember how good it felt when Ilzaam was declared a hit. We had all worked hard on it; Neelam, producer Pahlaj Nihalani, director Shibu Mitra and I.
But hard work is not enough of a security blanket and neither had I entered the industry with a silver spoon in my mouth. However, by the grace of God and with my mother's blessings, film nikal padi.When my dear friend Pahlajji gave me the good news, the first person I thought of was my mother. Her prayers had been answered. Life changed a lot after Ilzaam. People started recognising me. They would smile and ask me for my autograph. That feeling is unforgettable.
At the beginning of my career, I wasn't necessarily doing the best of projects. I was lucky to have Pahlajji approach me with what eventually became my first hit. It was a strong subject, which both my mother and I liked. I had a wellrounded role, where there was scope for me to sing, dance and do comic as well as emotional scenes. To be honest, I wasn't surprised when the film became a success.
But my mother was the happiest person. More so because she had been rather skeptical about the title Ilzaam and thought it had negative connotations. The story goes that the original title was Rampur Ka Lakshman but was changed to Ilzaam as Rampur also happened to be the title of a film Manmohan Desai Saab’s had done earlier with Randhir Kapoor. My mother was so uncomfortable with the new title that she even called Pahlajji home, asking him to change the title, just weeks before the film's release. At first, Pahlajji refused but relented later, just for my mother's sake. A collective decision was taken to once again change the film's title to Jhootha Ilzaam but that too was registered someplace else. Finally, the film remained Ilzaam and became a success despite the title.
Importantly, Ilzaam gave me a dear friend in Pahlaj and co-star Neelam, with whom I did nine films. We liked working together and the audience liked seeing us together. I had seen Neelam in her debut film Jawaani and knew she had the spark. But I had to wait for a couple of years before I could work with her. Ilzaam was the beginning of my journey and hence, very special. I'd say from Ilzaam in 1986 to Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in 1998, the hits that came my way were all based on the initial success I had in Ilzaam.