Ashutosh Gowariker – the man behind films like LAGAAN, SWADES and JODHA AKBAR is arguably considered one of the most talented directors of Hindi cinema, ignoring his recent duds that have not been at par with his own set standards in the past.
Interestingly the actor-turned-director actually began his career in direction with two complete washouts as PEHLA NASHA and BAAZI, which were both heavily inspired from the Western Cinema.
In 1993, Ashutosh made his directorial debut in PEHLA NASHA, a comic-erotic-thriller that revolved around film-making itself with its lead character being a struggling actor in Mumbai looking for his big break. The film had Deepak Tijori, Pooja Bhatt and Raveena Tandon playing the lead roles and it was an unofficial remake or a heavily inspired version of Brian De Palma’s 1984 film BODY DOUBLE.
Though Deepak Tijori had big hopes from the film as his first solo project, PEHLA NASHA failed to win over the audience, crushing Deepak’s wish of making it big in the tinsel town.
However the film still remains special for one unusual reason related to the multiple cameos seen in one of its dream sequence, where Deepak assumes himself to be a star and all key figures of the industry congratulate him on his success including Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rahul Roy and Sudesh Berry.
Probably the only film or scene till date, where both Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan share the screen together in one frame, the sequence has some interesting dialogues too making reference of individual film titles of them all as BAAZIGAR, AASHIQUI, PARAMPARA, VANSH, CHAMATKAAR, DEWAANA and JO JEETA WOHI SIKANDER. In addition Juhi Chawla also makes a friendly appearance as Deepak’s screen heroine in the climax in another filmy shot.
Besides these multiple cameos, director Ashutosh Gowariker himself appears in one of the early sequences of the film too, smiling in a picture published in the newspaper read by Deepak Tijori, which certainly was inspired by one of the most innovative cameos by the maestro Alfred Hitchcock in his LIFEBOAT.
But this is not all, as reportedly Raveena Tandon was also first signed to play a special appearance here, but her role was later increased converting the film into a more sellable two-heroine project. Plus another special appearance kind of presence in the film was of the lesser heard music directors Neeraj-Uttank, coming up with some interesting compositions and arrangement in their rare soundtrack.
Furthermore, the director also used a few second footage and music of Satyajit Ray’s CHARULATA (1964) in a sequence with the common reference of ‘Binoculars’.
So even though Ashutosh Gowariker’s debut directorial project couldn’t be a success, it still has some unique features that makes it worth remembering, especially for the fans of both Aamir and Shah Rukh.
Cheers!
(Note : This article was also featured in UC-News mobile app in Nov. 2017)