Producer and former CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani has shed some hilarious light on actor Govinda’s viral claims about turning down James Cameron’s global blockbuster Avatar. According to Nihalani, the Avatar in question was actually a Hindi film he was making with Govinda, which never saw the light of day because the actor would “faint” while filming and eventually withdrew from the project. Nihalani recalled how Govinda confidently claimed he had turned down Cameron’s ambitious project.
“Woh Avatar title se pata nahi uske dimaag mein kya aaya,” he chuckled, explaining that Govinda had somehow mixed up his own unfinished Hindi film with the Hollywood blockbuster. In a chat with Friday Talkies, Pahlaj Nihalani clarified the confusion. “I had made a film called Avatar with him.
I had filmed 40 minutes of it, which I consider one of my best films, but it got canned. He started claiming that he was offered the Hollywood Avatar. Uske dimaag ka disc ghum gaya aur language Hindi se English mein chala gaya (I don’t know what happened to him, but he started claiming that he was offered the Hollywood Avatar).
” Nihalani revealed that he had bought the remake rights of a K Balachander-directed Rajinikanth film, with Govinda in a double role. Strange things began happening during the shoot. Govinda would suddenly claim he was fainting.
“We tried to make the film in one schedule but last minute I don’t know what almonds he ate with tea that he started fainting and us din ke baad se uska dimaag theek nahi raha (and from that day his mind hasn’t been right). He started talking nonsense and the schedule kept getting pushed. Some songs and portions of the climax were left, but he didn’t shoot at all.
Shot would be ready, he would wake up, but then he is fainting. Pata nahi badaam mein kya tha, suspense hai aaj tak (I don’t know what was in the almonds, it’s still a mystery),” Nihalani laughed. For the unversed, in an interview with Aap Ki Adalat, Govinda revealed he not only turned down Cameron’s film but also suggested the title Avatar to the filmmaker.
One reason he rejected the film, according to Govinda, was because he was required to shoot for over 400 days using body paint, which he was completely against. Govinda, who has previously worked in Nihalani-backed films like Shola Aur Shabhnam and Aankhen, was last seen in Nihalani’s 2019 production Rangeela Raja. This quirky tale of Govinda’s mixed-up Avatar saga only adds to the actor’s legendary status of delivering both on-screen entertainment and off-screen stories.
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