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Kareena Kapoor Khan’s 2004 film Chameli was on the brink of being shelved after its writer and director Anant Balani tragically passed away just two days into the film’s shoot. At this critical juncture, the film’s producer approached Sudhir Mishra to take over the project and direct it with the Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham star. In a recent interview, Sudhir reflected on his experience helming Chameli and working with Kareena.
During a conversation with Bollywood Bubble, Sudhir clarified the narrative surrounding Chameli, saying, “There are a lot of stories about Chameli, but let me set the record straight. Chameli was being directed by Anant Balani, a film institute graduate who had already made two films. He passed away just two days into the film’s shoot. At the time, I was working on Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, which was produced by Pritish Nandy, who was also producing Chameli. He approached me to complete the film.”
Sudhir faced a daunting challenge when he realized that Anant had been improvising much of the film, and the script was incomplete. Nonetheless, he took on the task, enlisting the help of trusted writers to finish it. “When I asked for the script, the team informed me that Anant was improvising, and they handed me around 29 rough pages of it,” he recalled.
To meet the challenge, Sudhir brought in screenwriters Shiv Kumar Subramaniam and Swanand Kirkire, along with others, to help complete the film’s script. “We wrote the details of the plot within a week, but we continued improvising every day during the shoot,” he added.
Reflecting on his time working with Kareena Kapoor, Sudhir Mishra said, “Kareena’s talent is immense. It’s fascinating. She was given her dialogues every morning, but that’s something those in popular cinema are used to. Coming from Raj Kapoor’s lineage, she has a sense of discipline, respect for her director, and respect for the process. Even when I would forget to say ‘cut’ during a scene, she never stopped—she kept acting. She would often add something of her own that I hadn’t directed her to do. It’s not easy to rehearse and perform in the rain while wearing a heavy saree, but Kareena did it effortlessly. We shot for 12 hours a day and completed the film in 28 days. The film was released in theatres just four months after we started shooting.”
Chameli was a pivotal film in Kareena Kapoor Khan’s career and also starred Rahul Bose.
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