MEMORIES FROM REFUGEE FILM SETS

Recently, the film completed 17 years. Filmmaker JP Dutta shares how he used to stop Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor from overeating

Actor Abhishek Bachchan’s earring in his debut film Refugee (2000) is hard to forget. And as the film completed 17 years on June 30, filmmaker JP Dutta (right) reveals that the actor still blames that the earring bent his ear permanently. The film, which also marked the debut of actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, was a love story of two refugees. “Abhishek wore an earring in the movie, which, till date, he maintains has bent his ear,” says Dutta, adding, “I remember spotting Abhishek at his sister’s wedding. His face, and the way he carried himself caught my attention. Some time later, when I thought of making Refugee, I immediately thought of him. So I met Abh=ishek and Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan), and the rest is history.” Dutta recalls stopping his lead actors from eating way too much. “There was a Gujarati thali restaurant in the hotel where we stayed, and I had to stop all the actors from eating it everyday, so they would not put on weight,” he says. As for Kareena’s character, Dutta says that no other actor could have essayed the role better. He adds that luckily Kareena was available at that time. “She was to do another movie, which did not happen. I needed a young, innocent face for the role, so she became the natural choice for the film,” adds the filmmaker. He also shares that it took him quite a while to get Abhishek comfortable in front of the camera. To do so, he shot all the running sequences first. “I am sure he must have wondered why, at that time (smiles). We still laugh about it today,” he says.

Kareena Kapoor Khan and Abhishek Bachchan in a still from Refugee