Former CBFC chairman and producer Pahlaj Nihalani has rubbished Govinda's claim of being offered the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster Avatar.
In 2019, Govinda had claimed on the celebrity talk show Aap Ki Adalat that he was offered the 2009 Hollywood epic science fiction film Avatar. He had also claimed that it was him who had suggested the film's title to director James Cameron. Former Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Pahlaj Nihalani, who has produced two Govinda's blockbusters Shola Aur Shabnam and Aankhen, has now quashed his claims.
In his recent interview, Pahlaj has said that the actor confused the Hollywood film with his unfinished Hindi film titled Avatar. Talking to Friday Talkies, the producer said, "I had made a film called Avatar with him. I had filmed 40 minutes of it, which I consider one of my best films, but it got canned. Woh Avatar title se pata nahi uske dimaag mein kya aaya, baad mein claim karta raha ki main waha (Hollywood) ki Avatar kar raha hoon. Uske dimaag ka disc ghum gaya aur language Hindi se English mein chala gaya (I don’t know what happened to him, but he started claiming that he was offered the Hollywood's Avatar. The disc of his brain spinned over and he went from Hindi to English). He said he was offered that Avatar and forgot that it was actually Pahlaj Nihalani’s Avatar. So that was the big tragedy that happened. He said let’s put this on hold, do something else."
Pahlaj further added that they began working on Rangeela Raja, for which he had bought the rights of Rajinikanth-starrer 1981 blockbuster Netrikkan. He shared that as they started filming, Govinda claimed that he is fainting on the sets. "We tried to make the film in one schedule but last minute I don’t know what almonds he ate with tea that he started fainting and us din ke baad se uska dimaag theek nahi raha (since then his mind wasn't right). He started talking nonsense and the schedule kept getting pushed. Some songs were remaining and some portions of the climax, but he didn’t shoot at all. Shot would be ready, he would wake up, but then he is fainting. Pata nahi badaam mein kya tha, suspense hai aaj tak (I don't know what was there in the almonds, it is still a suspense)", the filmmaker concluded.
Rangeela Raja was finally released in 2019 after several delays. The film received extremely negative reviews from audiences and critics, and was a box office disaster. Made in Rs 19 crore, the film could only recover 1% of its budget as it earned only Rs 18 lakh. After Rangeela Raja, Pahlaj Nihalani hasn't produced any film and Govinda hasn't acted in any film, as of today.
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