‘I COULD NEVER SHOW MY CALIBRE’

Govinda says no film of his allowed him to explore his acting ability

Bright clothes, sprightly dance moves and an inimitable flair for comedy — Govinda may not have had a film of late but his films still make his fans laugh. But the actor doesn’t think his films ever exploited his abilities. “It’s very shocking that I never got a film where I could show my calibre,” he says.

Govinda does, however, believe that his first innings was his best time in the industry. “Mere liye vohi samay zyada successful raha,” says the 51-yearold, adding, “Mujhe kabhi us tarah ki filmein nahi mili, kabhi us tarah ke directorproducer bhi nahi mile. When I started working, there were about 22-23 new directors and many producers who had started afresh. All of them were successful. Even the films that I was part of were successful even though they weren’t wellplanned. Sometimes, in fact, I didn’t even shoot for them for more than 2 or 3 hours. It has been like that with me. Mujhe kabhi mukammal planning ki film nahi mili. Aur jitney time maine planning ki utne time vo puri nahi hui.”

His recent films may not have done well at the box office but Govinda is happy to have been cast in them. “I want to thank the director of Happy Ending (his last release) and to Saif Ali Khan. Aap sabhi logon ka bahut dhanyavaad deta hun ki paanch saal baad meri film lagi,” says the actor, as the film premiers on &Pictures this weekend.

After all these years, does he have expectations from his old time pals, like David Dhawan? Govinda replies, “Sivay khuda ke kisi se bhi umeed nahi hai.”