‘King' Dilip Kumar was served tea in a silver kettle, ate lunch, took a nap and left: Anupam Kher recalls shooting first film with ‘Tragedy King'

Indian Express

4 days ago

No one can forget the iconic moment from Subhash Ghai's Karma, when Dilip Kumar's character slaps Anupam Kher's Dr Dang, prompting him to deliver the legendary line: 'Iss thappad ki goonj ab tumhe sunai degi' (The echo of this slap will now ring in your ears). Reflecting on the unforgettable sequence in a recent interview, Anupam Kher shared his memories of shooting the scene and working alongside the legendary Dilip Kumar in Karma. Calling him a 'king', Anupam shared that Dilip worked at his leisurely pace and people around him, never seemed to feel bad even when he decided to take off without giving a single shot.
'He was like a king,' Anupam recalled in a chat with Filmfare. 'On the first day of shooting Karma, I was ready by 7 am even though I had been filming for Arjun till 5 that morning. I told them I needed to be out by 7, and they kept delaying, pulling my leg. But I showed up fully prepared, beard on, in character as Dr Dang. It was my first day on set.'
Anupam further painted a vivid picture of Dilip Kumar's grand entrance later that morning. He shared that the actor stepped out of a luxury car, was served tea in silver uensils, took a nap and decided to take off without shooting anything. 'At around 11 a.m., a white Mercedes arrived. One foot stepped out, wearing white trousers, then he emerged, just like a king. He said, 'Bring me tea,' and they served it in a silver kettle with biscuits. By the time he finished, it was lunchtime,' he said.
All the while, Anupam was waiting in full costume, rehearsing intensely. 'I was eager to make an impression. After lunch, he said, 'I'd like to take a nap,' and I said, 'Of course, sir.' We shot a few other scenes in the meantime. Around 3:30, he said, 'Let's leave it for today. We'll do it tomorrow.' And I again said, 'Yes sir, absolutely.' He had a way of saying things that made it impossible to refuse. That's why he did only about 60 films over a 50-year career. I've done 545 films in 40 years. But he, he was a king.'
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Anupam also spoke about his first experience working with another legend, Amitabh Bachchan, during the shooting of the revenge drama Aakhree Raasta. He admitted that when he met Amitabh for the first time, he himself was 'arrogant.' 'I thought I had already done a lot of films,' Anupam said. 'We were shooting in Chennai, it was extremely hot, and there was no air conditioning on set. I was complaining to the production manager, saying, 'Where's my AC?' He said, 'Sir…' and then I asked him who I had the scene with. He told me I had a scene with Amitabh Bachchan, who was already ready at 9 o'clock.' He admitted to reacting sharply: 'I said, 'Okay, okay… don't teach me professionalism now.''
Then came the moment he first saw Amitabh on set. 'There he was, with fake beard, moustache, wig, sitting quietly, wrapped in a wool blanket, reading a book in that sweltering heat,' Anupam said. Awestruck, he approached the superstar and introduced himself. 'He replied, 'Yeah, yeah, I've seen Saaransh. Very good. Sit down, sit down.'' Curious and baffled, Anupam asked how Amitabh could endure such heat while wearing so much. The answer, he said, became a life lesson. 'I asked him, 'Aren't you feeling hot?' And he said, completely straight-faced, 'If I think of heat, I feel it. If I don't think about it, I don't feel it.' I was stunned. That moment taught me so much. From that day, I've never complained about the heat again. That's why he's a legend. That was one of the biggest lessons of my life, and I've carried it with me ever since.'