{"id":420443,"date":"2026-04-27T19:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/420443\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T19:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T19:19:08","slug":"dilip-kumar-skipped-saudagar-shoot-for-3-days-citing-illness-subhash-ghai-threatened-to-cancel-film-reveals-kamlesh-pandey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/420443\/","title":{"rendered":"Dilip Kumar skipped Saudagar shoot for 3 days citing illness; Subhash Ghai threatened to cancel film, reveals Kamlesh Pandey |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dilip Veteran screenwriter Kamlesh Pandey, in a recent interview, recalled an incident from the sets of Saudagar, where Dilip Kumar stayed away from the shoot for three days, pushing director Subhash Ghai to the brink of calling off the film.Speaking about the Manali schedule, Kamlesh shared that the unit was fully prepared to shoot a key scene, but Dilip Kumar did not report to the set.\u201cFor three days, although the entire unit was ready with all equipment and preparation, Dilip saab didn\u2019t show up. On the first day, he said he was unwell. The next day, he said Saira Banu was unwell,\u201d Kamlesh revealed on The Raavya Sarda Show.<\/p>\n

\u2018Subhash Ghai said the film won\u2019t be made\u2019<\/p>\n

By the third day, the delay had clearly taken a toll on the production.\u201cSubhash Ghai got upset. He called his brother Ashok Ghai and said, \u2018The shooting is cancelled. We are going back to Mumbai. Book everyone\u2019s tickets. Saudagar will not be made.\u2019 Everyone got scared,\u201d he added.It was then that Kamlesh stepped in to speak to Dilip Kumar.<\/p>\n

\u2018Playing drunk at this age isn\u2019t easy\u2019<\/p>\n

When they met the actor at his hotel, Dilip Kumar explained the real reason behind his absence.\u201cHe told me, \u2018I have played drunk in films like Devdas, Sagina, and Sunghursh, but that was when I was young. At that age, you have control over your body. If the performance is slightly less, it looks like underacting; if it goes higher, it becomes overacting. Maintaining that balance is not easy now, especially in my 60s,\u2019\u201d Kamlesh recalled. <\/p>\n

Watch<\/p>\n

‘Her mischievous smile seemed so forced…’: When Dilip Kumar visited bed-ridden Madhubala for the last time<\/p>\n

\u2018If I overact, signal me…\u2019<\/p>\n

Dilip Kumar eventually agreed to shoot the scene, but with a specific request.\u201cHe told me, \u2018Don\u2019t tell Subhash Ghai, but you stand behind the camera. If I start overacting, give me a signal; if I underact, give me another signal. I will find the balance accordingly,\u2019\u201d Kamlesh said.The scene was shot, but the legendary actor remained unsure. <\/p>\n

\u2018I never got those Rs 100\u2019<\/p>\n

Kamlesh then made a friendly bet. \u201cI told him, \u2018If people don\u2019t clap after this scene, I\u2019ll give you Rs 100. If they do, you give me Rs 100,\u2019\u201d he shared.The scene eventually received applause, but Kamlesh added, \u201cI never got those Rs 100.\u201dSaudagar also starred Raaj Kumar, Manisha Koirala, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, and Jackie Shroff, among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran screenwriter Kamlesh Pandey, in a recent interview, recalled an incident from the sets of Saudagar, where Dilip…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[184105,184107,184102,184109,93,61,60,184104,184110,270,74920,184106,184108,184103],"class_list":["post-420443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-dilip-kumar-acting-challenges","tag-dilip-kumar-drunk-acting","tag-dilip-kumar-illness-saudagar","tag-dilip-kumar-saira-banu-news","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kamlesh-pandey-interview","tag-kamlesh-pandey-saudagar-story","tag-movies","tag-saudagar","tag-saudagar-movie-cast","tag-saudagar-shooting-delay","tag-subhash-ghai-saudagar-film-cancellation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}