‘80 Films On The Floor’
With two bona fide films to his name, Ranjeet was hopeful that his family would come round to supporting his decision to join show business. Their initial reaction had been negative. When he’d finally confessed to them that he was in Mumbai to become an actor, they were disapproving. “They disowned me immediately saying ‘Ladka galat jagah pohoch gaya hai’ [the boy’s wound up in the wrong place].” The relationship improved little by little. When Sharmeelee was going to have a premiere in Delhi, Ranjeet invited his family to the screening, hoping they’d see his success and forgive him. Instead, they walked out at interval, after seeing Ranjeet slap the heroine, Rakhee. It took Rakhee’s charm to convince Ranjeet’s mother that her son had not become the villain he played on screen.
Ranjeet’s family eventually warmed up to his profession. His mother would often go to a cinema near home after lunch, saying to her friends, “Chalo ji, munde di picture lagi hai! [Let’s go, it’s my son’s film that’s playing].” The theatre owner didn’t charge Ranjeet’s parents for their tickets and would also serve them refreshments for free. “She also caught on to the fact that I might be shot dead, or get arrested by the end, so she would get up right before the climax and walk out saying ‘Chalo ji, baaki ki film baad mein dekhenge!’ [Ok, I’ll see the rest later].”
During the Seventies, Ranjeet said he was one of the busiest actors in Hindi cinema. “I had 80 films on the floor at one point,” he recalled. His home also became, from the sound of things, like the ultimate bachelor pad where many young actors would hang out. Ranjeet remembers that on most days, there would be at least six people in his home, including famous names like Reena Roy (who made parathas), Moushumi Chatterjee (Ranjeet remembers her fish curry) and Parveen Babi. Ranjeet fondly remembered how the heroes he worked with loved their alcohol. “Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Feroze Khan, Sanjay Khan, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna or Sanjeev Kumar – they could all go through at least one bottle per night. Most of them would have to be carried to their respective cars,” he said.
If it sounds like Ranjeet partied hard, he’ll have you know that he worked even harder. He remembered how he didn’t cancel a shoot even on the day his father died. He took the morning flight to Hyderabad, finished his close-ups and mid-shots, and flew back by evening for the funeral rituals. “I didn’t want anyone to abuse my father, especially after his death,” he said. Ranjeet also remembered doing morning shifts in Srinagar and evening shifts in Mumbai. “Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Haryanvi, Bengali, Hindi – most heroes used to be late. So, I began doing one- to two-hour shifts. As it is, villains wouldn’t have that much work.” He can’t remember getting much sleep during these years and meals were often two or three bottles of lassi.
The biggest miss for Ranjeet was the role of Gabbar Singh. It was initially supposed to be played by Danny Denzongpa, who is a good friend of Ranjeet’s. Denzongpa was stuck in Afghanistan, shooting Feroze Khan’s Dharmatma (1975), and so a replacement was needed. “The crew of Sholay and I were staying in the same hotel in Bangalore. I said I couldn’t do it because Danny was a good friend of mine, and I would only do it if there was a ‘no objection’ from Danny, which they couldn’t bring.” The role went to Amjad Khan and Ranjeet insists he has no regrets. “Maybe if I had played Gabbar, it might not have become as iconic as it eventually did. Maybe this was destiny’s way,” he said.