Saeed Jaffrey Opens Up About His Iconic Role In Sai Paranjpye's Chashme Buddoor: Here's What He Revealed

LehrenDotCom

The film Chashme Buddoor, released in the '80s and directed by Sai Paranjpye, is considered one of the cult classics of Hindi cinema. Apart from Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Rakesh Bedi, and Ravi Baswani, Saeed Jaffrey played a key supporting role. In a special conversation with Lehren, Saeed Jaffrey shared his memories of the film, including how he was offered the role and how he brought the iconic character of Lallan Miyan, the Paanwala, to life. Let’s revisit those memories in Lehren's latest podcast and watch this flashback interview with the late Saeed Jaffrey. #saeedjaffrey #saiparanjpye #chashmebuddoor #deptinaval #farooqshaikh #rakeshbedi

Transcript

00:00The way you do it in Hollywood, you have a different accent.

00:07You do English films in London, you have a different accent.

00:10And the way you speak Urdu and Hindustani here, how do you maintain it?

00:14Huzoor, it's not about maintaining it.

00:16One should be flexible in that.

00:18First of all, when Sai Paranjpe called me,

00:20let me tell you this story.

00:22It was a big deal.

00:24It was a weekend.

00:26As you know, my wife is a casting director.

00:28Her name was Jennifer Jaffrey.

00:30So the English people are very particular in this matter.

00:38If the mother-in-law and father-in-law have called me for lunch,

00:44if they have called me at 1 o'clock,

00:46even if it's an hour's drive,

00:48I will reach by 1 o'clock.

00:50So it was a Saturday and we were going to Cambridge for the weekend.

00:53From London.

00:55Now there was a telephone call.

00:57Gul Anand Sahab said,

00:59Saeed Sahab, my name is Gul Anand.

01:03You have met my director Sai Paranjpe.

01:07I said, yes I have.

01:09So I will talk to you.

01:11I will cut it short.

01:13The phone got cut short.

01:15The phone got cut short.

01:17My wife said, come on, who is this?

01:21I said, somebody is calling from Bombay.

01:23Wait.

01:25After 10 minutes.

01:27Saeed Sahab, we are doing a film called Chashme Badoor.

01:31There is a college romance in it.

01:33There are three boys and a girl.

01:35There is a character in it.

01:37I will cut it short.

01:39The phone got cut short.

01:41My wife said, come on, who is this person?

01:45I said, look, give him a chance.

01:47After 10 minutes,

01:51after 10 minutes,

01:53I heard Gul Anand Sahab's voice.

01:55I said, don't cut it short.

01:57You can speak as long as you want.

01:59He said,

02:01we are making a film.

02:05Sai Paranjpe will direct it.

02:07There is a role of a paanwala in it.

02:11There is a paanwala in every university,

02:13in every college.

02:15People borrow money from him.

02:17They smoke, eat paan, etc.

02:19I said, will you send the script?

02:23Sai Sahab said,

02:25there is no time to send the script.

02:27I said, okay,

02:29but the central role is good.

02:31After that,

02:33he said,

02:35we don't have much money.

02:37If you are coming for Gandhi,

02:39then request him

02:41to send it a month or two earlier.

02:43I talked to the director.

02:45I said, it is a small film.

02:47He said, send it a month or two earlier.

02:49He doesn't have much money.

02:51Anyway, he came.

02:53Now,

02:55the most important thing

02:57about Chhatran Ke Khiladi

02:59was that

03:01Urdu was spoken by him

03:03from 1817.

03:05So,

03:07we kept a watch on it.

03:09We used to write and broadcast

03:11BBC's Urdu and Hindi services.

03:13Alice in Wonderland,

03:15Great Masterpieces of English Literature,

03:17etc.

03:19Wajid Ali Shah's letters

03:21to his wife,

03:23I had published all of them.

03:25And some of them,

03:27like Satyajit Ray,

03:29had listened to them.

03:31So, in that, that Urdu,

03:33people were thinking

03:35that,

03:37Mirza Sahab,

03:39what will you do?

03:41He will say something like this.

03:43In the same way,

03:45in Chashm-e-Baddur,

03:47when they said that it will be shot in Delhi,

03:49I came.

03:51I read the script.

03:53So, in that,

03:55the panwala,

03:57the brother panwala,

03:59he said,

04:01I am the panwala.

04:03So, I said, no,

04:05this won't do.

04:07This is a cliché.

04:09People have heard it.

04:11He is the panwala.

04:13Something like that.

04:15I said, no, you come with me.

04:17So, I took Gul Anand,

04:19Sai Paranjpe,

04:21and his cameraman.

04:23I said, we will go to old Delhi,

04:25Jama Masjid.

04:27It is 20 years old.

04:29Maybe, those places are there.

04:31There was a bundu khan panwala.

04:33We went to the bundu khan panwala.

04:35We said, brother,

04:37where is bundu khan sahab?

04:39He died.

04:41He died. I am alive.

04:45I looked at Sai and said,

04:47this panwala will speak like this.

04:49He will speak

04:51the cockney

04:53of old Delhi.

04:55Karkhandari.

04:57We went ahead.

04:59We took a kurta,

05:01a cap, and a tamarind.

05:03He will look like this.

05:05This is how the panwala will look.

05:07Because,

05:09in the west,

05:11when a character develops,

05:13you have to think like this.

05:15Where is he from?

05:17Is he English?

05:19Is he from Gorkha?

05:21He said, yes, very good.

05:23I said, what will be his name?

05:25I gave him 36 names.

05:27Bijan, Lallan, Laddan.

05:29Laddan, Bijan, etc.

05:31He said, Lallan.

05:33Everyone liked it.

05:35I will translate this script

05:37into the Karkhandari language

05:39here.

05:41Sai said,

05:43will you make it too long?

05:45I said, no, I will make it short.

05:47I am not used to footage.

05:49But it will not look real.

05:51This person, Lallan, lives in old Delhi.

05:53He has a wife, but no children.

05:55His shop is in Nizamuddin.

05:57So who are his children?

05:59Your college students.

06:01Your Farooq Sheikh, Ravi, Bhaswani, etc.

06:03When he was asked

06:05about his romance with Deepti Rawal,

06:07he said,

06:09why didn't you tell me?

06:11Take my cycle.

06:15If you can do this

06:17after living there for 20-25 years,

06:19then you have

06:21a contribution

06:23in Indian cinema.

06:25Sai sir,

06:27you were born in...

06:29Let me give you a Birmingham accent.

06:31Because your daughter-in-law is from Birmingham.

06:33So Birmingham has a special accent.

06:35It is not Cockney.

06:37Cockney is different.

06:47There is a sing-song in Birmingham.

06:49In Birmingham, they say,

06:57James, James, put it away,

06:59it's a bit broken.

07:01Look at this.

07:03Let me tell you about Scotland.

07:11It's a beautiful,

07:13moonlit night,

07:15and it's alright, you know.

07:19Like this.

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