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Did you know Govinda, who gave the Hindi film industry some crazy dance moves and some of the best comedy films, many of which were blockbusters, had announced in a 2003 interview that he would be stepping away from the comedy genre? He explained that his comedy films had long been regarded as “B-grade films” and “time-pass entertainment.” In an old interview with Rediff, the Hero No 1 actor revealed his decision to take a break from the genre that made him a star, shifting his focus to more serious roles. The actor also expressed frustration over often being nominated for Best Actor awards but never winning, despite his films being box-office successes.
Speaking about his comedy films, he said, “My films have always been considered total time pass entertainment, as B-grade films. They were never called good films. They were never acclaimed even though they did well. I would always be nominated for awards [in the Best Actor category] but never win. Then even that category changed [to Best Actor in comic role]. I tried to fight the situation. But then I thought, why fight? So I decided to change.”
Declaring that he would no longer take up comedy roles, he stated, “I will not do comedy films from now on. But in case I do, the script has to be fresh and new. I hate the same kind of writing. My track record till my last film Ek Aur Ek Gyarah has been good. It does not matter whether I have been more successful or less successful in my career. What matters is there has been success. Now, I should not spoil my name. This is the right time to move out.”
Expressing his desire to be part of more meaningful cinema, Govinda added, “I want to do good cinema. There should be a good director and quality writing. But I don’t have a dream role as such. If I had something specific in mind, then I may not be giving a chance to others to bring out their best qualities.”
In the same interview, Govinda admitted that he initially turned to comedy after serious roles began to exhaust him. However, as fate would have it, his comedy films became huge hits, leading him to take on back-to-back comedic roles. “Serious roles required too much of me. Being a sincere artiste, I thought three or four serious roles per year was too much of an exertion. To avoid this, I started doing comedy. Comedy helped my nerves and health. Fortunately, I became successful in this. But getting stuck in this rut is foolishness. So I decided to get out of it,” he explained.
Interestingly, when asked to name own favourite films of his, Govinda didn’t mention any of his comedy hits. Instead, he cited Hatya and Swarg as his favourites. He said, “I don’t like any of my films except Hatya and Swarg. These two films were sincere efforts at filmmaking and everyone was involved. My taste and thinking are very different. What I did was a good compromise. I’m lucky that they turned out good. But now, I really have to do something better.”
Despite his vow to step away from comedy, Govinda continued to appear in the genre. In 2003, when this interview was published, he starred in Raja Bhaiya and Ek Aur Ek Gyarah. In 2004, he appeared in comedy films like Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen and Ssukh. Later, he also featured in the blockbuster hits Bhagam Bhag (2006) and Partner (2007). He was last seen on the big screen in the 2019 comedy film Rangeela Raja.
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