Mohra is one of the finest movies of 90s that turned many actors like Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Raveena Tandon a household name. Do you know, the movie released in 1994 was the second highest blockbuster of the year – the highest being Salman – Madhuri starrer – Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!
Directed by Rajiv Rai, this 1994 blockbuster has completed almost 30 years of its release. And, while there are so many intresting facts about the movie – the one that we recently stumbled over an interview where the film producter shared how Akshya Kuamr wasn;t happy with the film and felt insecure of Suneil Shetty.
Was Akshay Kumar insecure about Suneil Shetty During Mohra?
Sometime back, on an interview with Bollywood Hungama, film producer Shabbir Boxwala, who was the co-writer as well as production designer, shared about the time when Akshay Kumar wasn’t very happy with the film and felt he was sidelined in front of Suniel Shetty.
When asked about the film’s premier, he recalled, “Yes. I remember Akshay Kumar’s brother-in-law and sister had graced the screening. Akshay was a bit upset. He felt that the title was biased towards Suniel and that he got a raw deal. However, we reasoned that he had an equally important role. And through that one song, ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’, the amount of money he made is mind-boggling. He did shows in every nook and corner!”
For the unvsered, the movie plot was built around Suneil Shetty’s character – Vishal Agnihotri – an ex-convict who was made a pawn (Mohra) by Naseeruddin Shah’s Mr Jindaal to wipe out all the criminals in the city. In the movie, the Akshay Kumar’s character of a police inspector Amar Saxena makes all the attempt to stop Vishal’s vigilantism. And, while Suneil SHetty played the most critical role in the movie, Akhsay became popular with two of the biggest chartbusters Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast & Tip Tip Barsa Paani.
How newcomer Akshay Kumar & Suniel Shetty were selected for the movie?
While revealing the unknown story about how Suniel Shetty & Akshay Kumar were selected for the movie, he revealed, “Akshay and Suniel were always there. Suniel was a friend. There were these hang-out places called Pastry Palace and Underworld, a video game parlour, on Napean Sea Road. Jackie Shroff used to come there and so did Suniel. So we all used to hang out. When I proposed to Rajiv that we should make a film with Suniel, Rajiv suggested that ‘Let his debut film be released. Let’s see what his pluses and minuses are. Then, we’ll plan a film with him’.”
On Akshay Kumar’s selection, he further added, “I had gone to meet Divya Bharti on the sets of Waqt Hamara Hai (1993). That’s where I met Akshay. I told Rajiv that this guy is also promising. Rajiv had seen Saugandh (1991) and realized that he works well for our film. This is how he chose to take both of them.”
When Anil Kapoor mocked Suniel Shetty & Akshay Kumar – Two Half Heroes
When Mohra was released many people doubted the success of the movie given how both the actors were almost a new comer. As per 2005 report in India Glitz, Anil Kapoor mocked Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar by calling them “two half-heroes” who joined forces to fill in for a single hero. He further attributed the success of Mohra to the presence of “two half-heroes” in it.
Anil Kapoor’s snarky remark didn’t go down well with Suniel and Akshay and they hit back by attributing the success of Anil Kapoor’s 1987 cult hit Mr India to “zero hero” since Anil’s character goes invisible in the movie for the majority of the screentime.
Mohra defintiely defied many assumptions and turned out to be a blockbuster at the box-office. The movie played an important role in establishing AKshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Raveena Tandon as actors. Have you watched the movie? Tell us in the comments below.