Gazala Salmin Recalls Shah Rukh Khan’s Sweet Side During Anjaam Shoot
Gazala Salmin recently took a trip down memory lane and opened up about her experience working with Shah Rukh Khan in the 1994 film "Anjaam". The actress, who was still a kid when she worked on the film, recalled a kinder, more caring version of Shah Rukh Khan that he didn’t show in the film. Shah Rukh Khan played such a dark and hard-edged character in the movie, Gazala said, but he was a warm and caring person behind the camera.
In a video posted on Instagram, Gazala recalled shooting a few portions of "Anjaam" in Mauritius; she talked about her memories. She also recalled the birthday sequence of the film which was shot on the island and said there were scenes shot on the island. Her memories made her think about what it was like to work with Shah Rukh Khan when she was too young to work with him as a teenager.
Gazala recalled how she was young during the whole shoot and how Shah Rukh Khan took his time to get to know her and make her feel very comfortable around him. Whenever the actor would meet her on set, he would affectionately hug her, which made her feel good despite the fact that his character in the movie was very scary.
As Gazala wrote, having been struck by the contrast between his on-screen persona and the way he acts behind the scenes, Gazala described Shah Rukh Khan as a “sweetheart” off camera. For a child actor, being around an actor who plays a character such as Shah Rukh Khan's intense character might be intimidating. But Shah Rukh Khan was friendly with her, Gazala said.
Her memories also reveal the difference between the actor’s performance and his actual personality in reality. In "Anjaam", Shah Rukh Khan played Vijay Agnihotri, a man obsessed and violent in character. His performance was dark and intense, and so this character was very interesting. Gazala, however, remembers the person who made the performance much differently.
Besides talking about Shah Rukh Khan, Gazala also recalled one of the more difficult parts of filming "Anjaam". She described performing a stunt sequence involving a car and said it was her first stunt scene. The sequence required her to perform many times a movement where her body was tossed into the air after an impact.
Gazala explained that it was a long day spent shooting from about 9 in the morning until 6 in the evening during the stunt. What scared her most was the lack of a safety harness during the stunt. But she persevered through the sequence and was safe and didn't get hurt, she said.
Looking back, Gazala admitted that she didn’t know how high she was going to jump in the stunt. As a kid, it was very intimidating for her because she did not have a good sense of the height or scale of the action. Nevertheless, she had to go through the sequence many times as required for filming.
Her memory gives a fascinating narrative of "Anjaam", a film that is still very much a part of Shah Rukh Khan’s early days. It was released in 1994 and featured Shah Rukh Khan opposite Madhuri Dixit in one of his earliest dark and negative roles.
Gazala’s lasting memory of the film seems to be less about the scary character we saw on screen and more about the kindness she experienced behind the camera. Her story of Shah Rukh Khan hugging her and making her feel comfortable is an intimate glimpse into life for a shoot taking place more than three decades ago.
Shah Rukh Khan remains one of the most popular actors in Indian cinema at present, and his early days in Bollywood as seen in the movies still make him one of the most recognisable stars. Gazala’s memories just reinforce the experiences young actors carry with them long after a movie has become part of Bollywood history.
Latest Movies Trailer
Comments
Please to leave a comment on this article.