5 things you never knew about Mr India!

If you are a 80s or 90s kid, Mr India will undoubtedly be one of your most favourite or iconic childhood films of all times. 30 years have passed but the legacy of Mr India still lives on. Whether it's Anil Kapoor, Sridevi or Amrish Puri, the film has some iconic moments and memorable characters who will never be forgotten. 

In an interview with Times Of India, producer Boney Kapoor made some surprising revelations about the film, which most of us have no clue about. Here are 5 of the most interesting ones -

3.8 crore at that time!
"We shot the film for over 350 days. Back then, a film with an A-list star (Jeetendra, Rajesh Khanna and Vinod Khanna) would cost nothing above 40-50 lakhs. I'm talking only about the single-hero projects; of course, films like 'Sholay' and 'Karma' were multi-starrers and were made on a different scale. I spent close to 3.80 crores on 'Mr India'. I don't think that even a big film like 'Karma' spent this kind of money (Subhash Ghai will hit me for this)."

Amitabh Bachchan as Mr India
"Initially, Salim-Javed were supposed to produce Mr.India with Amitabh Bachchan. There was even talk that Ramesh Sippy was considering it, but he felt it was too expensive for a single-hero project. In fact, Javed saab was the one who suggested Shekhar's name, and we all decided to go ahead."

Sridevi's look in Jaanbaaz
"For the song 'Kaate Nahin Kat Te', we got an elaborate outfit designed for Sri, but I changed my mind. I had seen her chiffon saree look in 'Jaanbaaz', and Feroz Khan had picturised it fabulously. So, I told Shekhar Kapur, 'Can we better that song?' I wanted everything to be handled aesthetically. Also, all that you see in the film was shot in real-time. From the special effects to the fight sequences, nothing was done in post."

Salim-Javed's last film together
"When the script was narrated to me, we didn't have the villain's track, that was reworked later. It so happened that Pramod Chakravorty (director of films like Love in Tokyo and Dream Girl) had a mahurat planned with Amitabh Bachchan for some film. Somehow, he couldn't reach the event, and Amitabh's recorded voice was played on the speaker. That's where they got the seed of the idea and then, they worked on the script. Unfortunately, they (Salim-Javed) parted, and I think this was their last released film as co-writers, but actually, they had worked on the structure way before I started shooting."

Amrish Puri's casting
"Those days, superhero films like Superman and Batman were gaining popularity here, and Shekhar wanted something on those lines which was larger than life. Almost every villain in the industry wanted to do this part. Javed saab said that his takia kalam would be 'Mogambo khush hua' and we all jumped at it. He even predicted that the line will be remembered for as long as film industry exists. The challenge was to create the aura that 'Sholay's' Gabbar (Singh, played by Amjad Khan) had, or come as close. While we had auditioned a couple of actors, Amrish Puri was at the back of my mind as 'Hum Paanch' had just catapulted his villainous stature in the industry."