Actor Shagufta Ali, known for her memorable comic roles in films such as Hero No. 1, Banarasi Babu and Laila Majnu, as well as popular television shows including Sanjivani, Sasural Genda Phool and Sasural Simar Ka, recently opened up about her experience of working with Karisma Kapoor. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, the actor also shared her thoughts on why the hit pairing of Govinda and Karisma eventually came to an end.
Shagufta Ali says Karisma Kapoor had a lot of attitude on set
When asked why Govinda and Karisma stopped working together despite delivering several blockbuster films, Shagufta said, “Interest khatam ho gaya hoga. Pyaar mohabbat khatam ho gaya hoga. Heroines ke mood ka bhi kya bharosa hai. Aur bahut zyada ambitious hona bhi achha nahi hai. Karisma over-ambitious thi. She was very hardworking, lekin attitude bhi bahut zyada tha (Perhaps they lost interest. Maybe the love and affection between them faded. You can never be sure about a heroine’s mood. And being overly ambitious isn’t always a good thing. Karisma was over-ambitious. She was very hardworking, but she also had a lot of attitude).”
Elaborating on what she meant, she added, “It was evident everywhere. The attitude you bring to the set and the way you behave make a difference too. If someone is your co-actor, there has to be give and take. Whether you’re doing a scene together or giving an interview, both people should get an equal chance to speak. It affects our performance as well. If I’m there on set to give you cues, then you should also be there for me. Or don’t be, I can perform scenes without cues too. That’s how I’ve managed to survive in this industry for 40 years.”
Over the years, Karisma and Govinda worked together in several hits and blockbusters including Coolie No.1, Shikari, Saajan Chale Sasural, Raja Babu, Haseena Maan Jaayegi and more. Shagufta and Karisma worked together in David Dhawan’s Hero No. 1, which also starred Govinda, Paresh Rawal, Satish Shah, Kader Khan and Tiku Talsania in pivotal roles. The 1997 comedy went on to become a major box-office success.
Karisma Kapoor’s recent work
Karisma was last seen in the series Brown. The psychological thriller featured her as a detective alongside Surya Sharma, Jisshu Sengupta, Soni Razdan and Ajinkya Deo. The show received a positive response from both critics and audiences and is currently streaming on ZEE5.