Digital Desk: There are showrunners who make the stars. Then there are those who bring out the actors in them — the mentors and teachers who are seldom acknowledged for laying the foundation of their students, who later rule the big screen. One such Bollywood gem has been the iconic actor himself, Asrani, who holds the credit of teaching and honing the acting skills of names like Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi and Shatrughan Sinha.
In 1966, Asrani graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India's (FTII) inaugural batch in Pune. "However, it wasn't my ticket to Bollywood." "At the time, no one realised you could learn acting in an institute," he reflected in a 2017 interview with The Hindu.
Asrani was obliged to start teaching at FTII while struggling in Mumbai due to a lack of possibilities and a few blink-and-miss gigs here and there. Surprisingly, one of his fourth-year classmates provided him with opportunities.
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On Gulzar's recommendation, legendary filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, a guest faculty member for editing at FTII, reached out to Asrani. Gulzar was looking for a suitable actress to play Jaya Bachchan (then Bhaduri) in his film Guddi (1971). Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who had done notable work in a student film, was brought to Jaya by Asrani. Asrani auditioned for the film alongside Jaya. In Guddi, he played an aspiring actor who flees his home to pursue his goals in the Maximum City.
"When Hrishida inquired about Jaya, I immediately took him to the canteen, where she was enjoying a cup of tea. Danny (Denzongpa) and Anil Dhawan were also present. When I told Jaya that Hrishida had arrived to meet her, she spilled her cup of tea! I pestered Gulzar for a role while he spoke with Jaya. In a 2016 interview with Cinestaan, Asrani said, "He softly told me that there was one, but not to tell Hrishida that he had told me about it."
Guddi was a sleeper hit, and both Asrani and his student Jaya Bhaduri were thrust into the spotlight. "As a result, I signed eight projects and didn't look back," he added. Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar were so taken by Asrani's performance that they decided to cast him in all of their subsequent films.
"Even today, when Jaya sees me, she addresses me as 'Sir,' because I was once her teacher," Asrani told Filmfare in 2018. "Along with Gulzar Saab, Ramesh Behl, and a relative, I was one of the four 'brothers of the bride' at Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan's wedding." 'At the private party, Sanjay Gandhi was also present,' the famous actor added.
Asrani went on to star in Bawarchi (1972), Namak Haraam (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), and Abhimaan, among other films. Even though a lot of preparation went into playing the jailor in the movie Sholay (1975), he remains his most memorable character.
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