When ‘Jaani Dushman’ hit theatres, reality was different. Audiences rejected it, and critics called it one of the worst films ever made. People now watch it for laughs, not thrills.
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Sonu Nigam on ‘Jaani Dushman’: Sometimes in Bollywood, even the biggest names, the flashiest casts, and the grandest promises end up delivering the exact opposite of what people expect. Singer Sonu Nigam, who once tried his hand at acting, knows this feeling all too well. Looking back, he laughs about it, but at the time, those experiences left him puzzled and disheartened.
In a recent conversation, Sonu Nigam spoke honestly about his two acting outings: Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahaani (2002) and Kash Aap Hamare Hote (2003), and why both turned out to be bitter-sweet lessons in his journey.
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Talking about ‘Jaani Dushman’, Sonu recalled how excited he had been when he first signed the film. And honestly, who wouldn’t be? The project had names like Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Manisha Koirala, Arshad Warsi, Aftab Shivdasani, Aditya Pancholi, Rambha, all under one roof.
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“When I signed the film, I thought, Sunny Deol is in it, how wrong can it go? Akshay Kumar is there, how wrong can he go? Manisha Koirala, how wrong can she go? There were so many stars. But unfortunately, it did,” Sonu said.
Sonu also mentioned how close he was to Armaan Kohli, who played the lead villain in the film. “Armaan is like a brother to me, he really cares about me,” he said. But even their bond couldn’t save the film from its disastrous reviews.
Released in 2002, ‘Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahaani’ was marketed as a fantasy-action spectacle, filled with computer graphics that were considered “modern” at the time. Director Rajkumar Kohli pulled together an ensemble, even re-launching his son Armaan with the new screen name ‘Munish Kohli’.
The hype was huge. Akshay Kumar and Sunny Deol together for the first time, a comeback for Armaan, and a star-studded cast that seemed too big to fail.
But when it hit theatres, reality was different.
The film was ripped apart for its weak story, random special effects, and odd choices, like middle-aged actors playing college students. Some scenes were lifted straight from Hollywood blockbusters like ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Terminator’.
Audiences rejected it, and critics called it one of the worst films ever made. People now watch it for laughs, not thrills.
If Sonu hoped his second film would change his luck, fate had other plans. ‘Kash Aap Hamare Hote’, which introduced Juhi Babbar (daughter of veteran Raj Babbar), turned into another disappointment.
Sonu revealed the shocking chaos behind the scenes. “We went all the way to shoot it, and they hadn’t even written the climax. Who does that? And now, during the shoot, they’re figuring out how to end it,” he said.
For him, it was a moment of disbelief. “I was thinking, who are these people? Raj Babbar ji’s daughter is making her debut, how can they go for a shoot without writing the climax? I don’t know whose mistake it was, but I guess it was written in our fate,” he reflected.
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