For his debut film, John – the writer, director and producer of Sarfarosh – had approached Aamir in 1992, but due to scheduling conflicts, the film finally went on the floors in 1995 and was released in 1999.
Aamir, who essayed the role of ACP Ajay Singh Rathod in the film, had mentioned in aninterview that he agreed to do the film becausehe believed there were certain societal issues that needed to be addressed through cinema.On being asked if he was aware of the politicalimplications of the film, he had said, “Ofcourse, that’s why I did the film.”
I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since Sarfarosh: Sonali Bendre
The actress told us, “I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since Sarfarosh. I owe Sarfarosh to my director John and nobody else. I had done ad films with John. He was so clear that he wanted me in that role. Sarfarosh was a right mix of realism and commercialism. Everything was just right in it. Though till date, I have not seen Sarfarosh. I have not seen any of my films. Now I see it in bits and pieces when it comes on social media.”
‘Naseeruddin Shah was initially considered for the role of Salim’
The director initially considered casting Naseeruddin Shah for the role of Salim, but the actor had declined to play a cop. So instead, John offered him the role of Gulfam Hassan, the ghazal singer, which Shah accepted. When it came to creating the villain for Sarfarosh, John said he needed a character with good access to places. During that period, only Pakistani cricketers and ghazal singers frequented the country. The director told us, “I couldn’t have portrayed a cricketer as the villain in my film. So, I thought, why not a ghazal singer? Ghazal singers were often invited to high-profile gatherings, so I thought of using that for the plot.”
CBFC had asked the makers to remove Pak & ISI references
John recalled, “A few months before the film was submitted to the CBFC for certification, in February 1999, then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited Lahore on the inaugural run of the Delhi-Lahore bus service. So, the CBFC wanted us to remove references to Pakistan and ISI. But after several discussions, the film was passed without any cuts.” The film released on April 30, 1999, and shortly after, the Kargil war officially began on May 3, and went on till July 1999. John added, “I remember visiting the theatres in July; they were packed. People felt that the film was topical.”
‘It took Nida Fazli a year to write Hoshwalon’
About the iconic song Hoshwalon from Sarfarosh, the late lyricist Nida Fazli had said in an interview, “Director John Matthew Matthan asked me to get Jagjit to sing it, initially composed by Jatin-Lalit. But after he heard it, Jagjit refused to sing it because the metre and rhyme were out of sync. But Aamir wanted only Jagjit to sing for him. So I spoke to Jagjit again. Eventually, he agreed on one shart – that he would compose it.” John shared with us, “It took Nida Fazli ji a year to write Hoshwalon.”
DID YOU KNOW?
• Sarfarosh was listed 33rd among Variety’s top 100 films of the week in 1999.
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui played a small role in the film.
• There have been multiple discussions to make a sequel to the film
• The film was shot in Mumbai and Jaisalmer. While Gulfam Hassan’s haveli was the Mohangarh Fort, Mirchi Seth’s den was the Mandir Palace in Jaisalmer
