Mr. India: Interesting facts

Boney Kapoor’s production, Mr. India, is one of the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood which is a must watch for the all the cine lovers. The film, which starred now real life brother-in-law and sister-in-law Anil Kapoor and Sridevi as the romantic lead and the late Amrish Puri as the iconic villain Mogambo, still ranks on the 'must watch list' of many. As the film turned 28 this year, check out some of the interesting lesser known facts about the film...

Did you know that Anil Kapoor was not the first choice for the film which established him as the Mr. India of Bollywood. If sources are to be believed, the role of Arun Varma or Mr. India was written keeping Amitabh Bachchan in mind due to his popular baritone which could give the character a strong identity. But the latter turned down the script. For the record, director Shekhar Kapur had offered the film to another superstar Rajesh Khanna, but he also said no to the project as he could not relate himself to the experimental concept of the invisible hero. Finally, Anil Kapoor signed the film which went on to become one of the must watch films of Bollywood.

Grand Masti actor Aftab Shivdasani was one among the several orphaned kids who were taken care of by Anil Kapoor's character in the superhit film Mr. India. The actor was already an established child artist as the Farex boy at the age of fourteen months, and he also featured in several other hit films like Masti, Speed, Footpath, Kasoor, 1920 - Evil Returns and many more. He is now married to Nin Dusanj.

It is no secret that renowned choreographer Ahmed Khan played an orphan in Mr. India. The child actor, who has choreographed for several films from Rangeela, Taal to Kick, made his Bollywood debut with Anil Kapoor and Sridevi’s film. After the success of Mr India, Ahmed was seen as a child actor in some more films like Raakh. He is now a successful director, scriptwriter and producer, and is married to Shaira Khan.

The passing away of youngest orphan, Tina, was a very emotional moment in the film as she is killed in a bomb blast. While the scene had all it takes to make the audience break into tears, it was actually a challenge to film the funeral in real. Since Tina was a little kid, she started laughing and giggling as soon as someone came to lay a flower on her. Finally, her mother was asked to make her fall asleep only after which the scene could be shot.

Director Shekhar Kapur considered Anupam Kher for the negative role of Mogambo. However, things didn’t work out and Amrish Puri was convinced for the role of the most dreaded villain. But it wasn’t easy to persuade him and he agreed to do it only for producer Boney Kapoor. Not only did he become one of the best villains in Bollywood, but his dialogue, “Mogambo khush hua” went on to become a part of our everyday life.

There were speculations of a sequel of Mr. India with Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in their original roles. While Amrish Puri is no more, Salman Khan was rumoured to step into the shoes of Mogambo, besides Arjun Kapoor in another negative role. However, the talks of making the film in 3D and releasing it by 2014, didn't seem to have reached any conclusion as there is still no confirmation on the same. Producer Boney Kapoor is supposed to be working on the project and we hope to see the much awaited sequel.