We talked to Sukhwant Dhadda about his debut film and here's what he revealed:
“I had helped a friend in his business which earned him good profits. As a gesture of gratitude, he offered to produce a film for me. That’s how Ek Chadar Maili Si got planned. Bedi Saab (Rajinder Singh Bedi) even gave the rights of the film to us,” said Sukhwant Dhadda.
It was merely a coincidence that Ek Chadar Maili Si had Hema Malini and Rishi Kapoor ( Geeta Bali nephew) in the lead roles which were primarily meant meant for Geeta Bali and Dharmendra. It was said that Dharmendra had warned Hema against doing this film due to the fate of Rano.
Sukhwant Dhadda reveals, “Though I’m not too sure about Dharmendra’s warning to Hema Ji but I can surely say that at times things are speculated in the film world.”
On casting a non-Punjabi actress as a `Punjabi woman’ in the film, Sukhwant says, “In the film Hema ji was given the look of a pendu Punjabi woman and she looked pretty much like one.”
Produced by G.M Singh, Ek Chadar Maili Si had Hema Malini, Rishi Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, Kalbhushan Kharbanda, AK Hangal, Deena Pathak, Gita Sidharth, Amrik Gill, Adarsh Gautam, Harjit Walia, Gopi Bhalla, Soni, Makhan Singh, Hemraj Sharma and Shammi in the main roles.
About the shoot of the film Mr. Dhadda reveals that the film was shot at various locations in Punjab (Noormahal), Himachal (Palampur), some villages of Haryana and Mumbai Film city.
About the risk of shooting in Punjab during the militancy period, Sukhwant said, “We were given police protection in Punjab but we didn’t face any threat or problem. The film shoot happened smoothly in Punjab like it happened at other locations.”
How was the response to the film?
“I remember a critic of a known publication had bashed the film. But years later, he praised it. Mostly the film got rave reviews. It performed well in Punjab, Rajasthan and in some other north territories but met with lukewarm response everywhere else,” he signed off.
Ek Chadar Maili Si was an honest adaptation of a popular Novel of Rajinder Singh Bedi, which talks of the old age tradition of Chadar Pauna (marrying the widow of one’s brother). It was a gutsy attempt by the Hindi film makers to make a film on such a sensitive subject when Punjabi film industry had largely ignored such earthy stories.
Trivia
1.Rekha was approached by the makers for the lead role but things did not work out.
2.Raj Babbar had almost signed the film but opted out due to date issues and was replaced by Rishi Kapoor.
3.Hema Malini considers it one of her best performances till date. She had confided to her close friends that a jury member of the National Awards had some personal issues with her which is the reason why the the film and her act was left out from the awards that year.
4.Years after Rano got shelved, Jaya Bachchan had asked Rajinder Singh Bedi to start the film. She was keen to play the lead role.
5.Rajinder Singh Bedi tried to revive Rano in late 70s with Kiron Kher then known as Kiron Thakar Singh.
6.A Haryanvi Film Sanjhi was also based on a similar subject.
7.Ek Chadar Maili Si clashed with Rajesh Khanna’s Anokha Rishta, which was also based on the bold theme of young girl-older man romance.It had close competition with other biggies like Karma, Naam, Samunder, Sada Suhagan etc.
8.Hema Malini was heavily pregnant with her second child Aahna during some crucial scenes of the film. While she mostly shot for her scenes indoors at film city, Rishi Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon and other artists shot at outdoor locations.
9. Punjabi Theatre & Film actress Gurcharan Kaur Baggan had done the playback along with Asha Bhosle for the song Marr Gai Marr Gai.
10.Pakistani Film Mutthi Bhar Chawal was also based on the same subject.
Ek Chadar Maili Si is available on YouTube and MX Player for preview.
