Anees Bazmee Recalls 'Terror' Of Working With Raj Kapoor: Was Made To Travel By Truck As Punishment

Anees Bazmee, over the years, has crafted a niche for himself with his very own brand of slapstick humour in cinema. The director is currently shooting for his next big banner project, the Kartik Aaryan-led Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Amid the shoot, Anees recently revisited the time he spent working as Raj Kapoor's assistant, his very first tryst with the world of cinema.

Anees Bazmee recalls the templated experience of working with Raj Kapoor

Anees Bazmee kickstarted his career in the world of cinema, working as an assistant to Raj Kapoor. In a recent interview with a well-known YouTube channel, the filmmaker recalled how lucrative the experience had been, for a newbie like him. However, it was not all good, owing to the famous temper that Raj Kapoor harboured. Bazmee recalled how when Kapoor flew into a rage, the entire set would instantly fall quiet. Bazmee shared, “Angry is an understatement to describe how he could be. He was a terror. I remember it well. If he was in a bad mood and yelled at someone, the entire crew – 400 people – would fall into a pin-drop silence.”

The director also drew a parallel between the kind of roles Raj Kapoor opted for on-screen and his real-life persona. Bazmee added, "He had a different personality in films, good-natured…But in real life…We assistants were terrified of him."

Anees Bazmee recounts the time he was 'punished' by Raj Kapoor

In the same interview, Bazmee also recalled how this one time, owing to a mistake that had been made, he and the other assistants were made to travel from Mumbai to Mysuru in a truck. The painstaking journey took a total of three days to complete. He said, "...once, I made some blunder, and I was told that I wouldn’t be travelling with him in a plane, but I would be travelling from Mumbai to Mysuru in a Jonga with the other assistants and all the lighting equipment. It took us three days."

Bazmee however, felt that Raj Kapoor's demand for perfection was not misplaced. He was an institution in himself, as per the director. He further shared, "He doesn’t need anyone, but everyone needs him...People graduate from fancy schools, I graduated from the university of Raj Kapoor."