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Prakash Mehra is no stranger to Bollywood. Unfortunately though, the film industry now seems to have become a stranger to him. One of the biggest producer-directors of

the '70s and '80s, he came to be known as the godfather that Amitabh Bachchan had been looking for.

After all, the Big B's career scaled dizzying heights with films like Namak Halaal, Laawaris, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Sharabi and Zanjeer all produced and directed by

Mehra. But today, a whole generation seems to have forgotten the prolific filmmaker. So much so, that he now lives a very lonely existence.

You have not been in good health lately…
Yes. I am not well. I have just returned from a brain scanning session. The doctors wanted to rule out if I had a stroke. Two months back, I fell in the bathroom. My head

banged against the washbasin. When I tried to get up, I lost my balance and my head hit the washbasin again. I fell with the weight of my body on the left side. After that, I

felt that I had lost feeling in the left side of the body. Slowly, I'm getting back. I am undergoing physiotherapy. Now I can walk. But someone still needs to help me in getting

up from where I am sitting or sleeping.

What are the doctor's orders?
I've been told to stop smoking cigarettes completely, but I still can't resist puffing away a bit, especially when I am in the toilet. I stopped having alcohol since the last seven

months.

Your wife was in coma. How is she doing now?
She slipped into coma seven years back, while she was returning from her hometown. Thereafter, she still hasn't opened her eyes. We have had eleven operations done on

her, but to no avail. Perhaps she can hear. When my elder son Amit, who is settled in States, came here for few days recently, she cried when he told her 'Mama, I have

come'. I have two nurses attending to her 24×7. The doctors say that it is a very rare case of nerve defect. The problem could have struck any time and she could have

collapsed even when she was five years old. Her illness has affected all of us.

Do you spend time with her?
Almost in tears I need guts to do that, which I don't have. I just peep into her room every now and then.

Has the industry kept in touch with you?
Our film industry is practical and professional, rather, shamelessly practical and professional. Pramod Chakraborty, Arjun Hingorani, Shakti Samanta and I were a group. We

used to meet everyday at Pramod's place after work, and bounce off ideas. It's all scattered now. We have lost touch. Shakti has settled in Kolkata, Pramod is in the US.

Those were the days...

Not even Mr Bachchan?
Why should he keep in touch with me? Is he crazy? Uske paas itna time kahan? If I was in his place, I would have done the same thing. Amitabh topped in movie after movie

with me, but today, it's a forgotten chapter for him

But if Zanjeer hadn't released...
Interrupts That's another story. It's up to Amitabh how to react now. Think of it, why only one Zanjeer? Hera Pheri, Khoon Pasina, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Laawaris, Namak

Halaal, Sharabi... Amitabh should remember each and every movie of mine with him, and cry.

Have you seen his recent films?
I am not interested in Amitabh anymore. I see his posters. I see his ads of 'Do Boond Lena Mat Bhoolna'. I am interested in seeing Amitabh in a movie that is made better

than the ones he made with me. I made real and original films with him. Even Sholay was a copy of Once Upon a Time in the West, starring Charles Bronson. Do you know

that Sholay's 50 weeks share was much lesser than Muqaddar Ka Sikandar's share of 15 weeks? But who cares? Aaj ki date mein apni trumpet agar rooftop pe bajao, to hi

log sunte hain.

Are you in touch with the recent spate of films?
Yes. I generally watch them on DVD. I wish there was more consistency and variety. When I made Zanjeer, men started getting Amit's police uniform stitched. I immediately

made Hera Pheri, which made the critics write that Amit and Vinod Khanna have a great sense of comic timing. They were compared with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Before people stopped talking about it, I was planning a mature love story with the same two guys in the form of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.

Please continue...
I loved Munnabhai MBBS and am waiting to see Lage Raho Munnabhai. But why is Omkara depicting so much violence, as clear from whatever I have seen on television?

Om is the only word that you consume inside you when you say it. Bloody hell! I don't want to see that film. I am also intrigued that Asoka had no 'h' in the name. Why are

they ashamed to name it correctly as Ashoka — The Great? Why distort history? Add to this the fact that Ashoka was a very tall man and Shah Rukh, who played his

character, is a medium-sized man. John would have been a better choice instead. I have also seen Rang De Basanti, but I couldn't understand the film. What was the

director trying to tell us through a foreign girl? But I tell you, be it Shah Rukh, Salman or Aamir or anybody else who will reach the top, that person will not reach the heights

that Amitabh reached. Amitabh is untouchable.

You played a large role in that…
Sarcastically No, I had no hand in that. There was Ramesh Sippy and Hrishikesh Mukerji… Yeah, there was also a Prakash Mehra, who by fluke made some good films.

Today if you ask any newcomer if he knows who I am, he will say, 'Prakash Mehra? I have heard his name. But I know Prakash Jha, who has made Gangaajal and

Apaharan'. We are living in bitter times of hypocrisy.

What exactly was the problem between Amitabh and you?
Amitabh betrayed me. He did Manmohan Desai's Toofan where he played a similar role to what he had in my Jaadugar. Both the films were being made almost at the same

time. I had spent too much money on Jaadugar. There was no fight, no confrontation. The whole industry was quiet. Nobody spoke a word about how it could happen. After

that, he was in the US for some years.

Haven't you and Mr Bachchan ever met after Jaadugar?
He came home once when I called him. I had a script and I desired to convert it into a film with him. He came leaving the KBC shoot, all with make-up. He sat for more than

two hours. After listening, he said that he loved the subject but expressed his inability to do it. He said that the subject was a sequel to Abhimaan, and now he was planning

to make a similar subject. He showed a kind gesture that he would drop the film for me, but I told him, 'Thanks. Let's close this chapter here. If I have anything else in future,

then we'll talk'.

If one wants to remake any of your films, will you permit that?
So many people have raped my films one way or the other. Wasn't Jeet, starring Sunny Deol, made from Muqqadar Ka Sikandar? Zanjeer jaisi kaunsi film nahin bani?

Permission ki baat kahan hoti hai? But yes, I remember Rajnikant came to me and said he wanted to buy Laawaris. I took money from him, for he wanted to remake it in the

South. However, I placed one condition. I wanted profits from his earnings as well. He promised partnership, but never kept his promise.

What is a regular day like for you now?
I get up at 7.30 am and by the time my physiotherapist leaves, I am eager to read the papers. I catch up on all the news. Like every other normal person, I have my normal

positive and negative thoughts throughout the day.

Who among the current crop of actors impresses you?
Shah Rukh and Salman are good, but Aamir is better. Among the girls, I like Rani and Aishwarya. Sushmita is a very powerful actress too.

Are your sons going to keep your flag of direction flying?
My son Punit is working on a script and intends to do a film. Sumeet is settled in the US, while Amit looks after my
studio in Juhu.