Noted Bollywood producer Abdul Gaffar Nadiadwala aka A G Nadiadwala, of Welcome and Hera Pheri fame, passed away early morning on August 22, 2022. He was 91 years old and died due to cardiac arrest while he was being treated at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.
A G Nadiadwala was known for his generosity and was lovingly called ‘Seth ji’. His producer-son Firoz Nadiadwala exclusively spoke to Bollywood Hungama about this aspect and a lot more.
It is said that your father used to be called for several film mahurats…
By God’s grace, he was looked upon as a person whose blessings were required. Till date, it is said that there was only one Seth ji in the movie industry and that was my father. In other words, ‘Seth ji’ was synonymous with my father. If someone is told, ‘3 baje Seth ji ke office mein aa jaana’, he or she will automatically understand where to head at 3 pm. After all, there was no second Seth ji.
Why was he called ‘Seth ji’?
He was so called not just for his monetary strength but also out of affection and love, and the way he’d trust people and stand by them. For example, if he owes you money and is supposed to pay you two months later, he’ll call you and be like ‘Tera paisa dena hai’. You’d obviously reply ‘Lekin uske liye toh do mahina baaki hai’. He’ll reply, ‘Pata hai lekin tum abhi aa ke le jaao’! He was very generous with everyone who worked with him be it actors, directors or technicians.
Suppose someone from his team wants to buy a flat worth Rs. 10 lakhs. My father owes him Rs. 5 lakhs, out of which he has paid him Rs. 3 lakhs and the balance amount of Rs. 2 lakhs need to be paid after a few months. He’ll immediately call that person and straight away hand him Rs. 2 lakhs. Then my father would ask him ‘Baaki ke Rs. 5 lakhs arrange ho gaye?’. If he’d reply in the negative, my father would call the accountant and hand him over Rs. 5 lakhs. He’ll tell him ‘Aage kahin adjust kar lenge. Aur mujhe batana jab ghar kharidoge’. Moreover, he’d not even make a record in his diaries or in any way about such transactions.
Did he even sign lead actors for three films together?
Yes, and he’ll even pay them for 3 films at one go in advance!
What was the thought behind this gesture?
Trust, love and respect. You won’t believe, he’d even give work to those who haven’t even been signed by him. At times, prominent directors would turn up at my father’s office and would say that they urgently need money. They’d tell my father, ‘Lekin aapne mujhe sign nahi kiya’. My father would reply, ‘Woh baad mein dekh lenge. Cash loge ya cheque?’ Depending on what the director would choose, my father would hand it over to him!
That’s quite a generous and astonishing quality of his…
Uss waqt log bhi waise the. Now, it’s no longer the case. I’d not like to name them but some of the most prominent actors today brought their properties thanks to the money my father gave.
Could you tell us about the respect commanded by your father in the industry?
Superstars of those days would accommodate time to go and meet my father. They would never expect him or hope that he would come to their home, especially for work. Itni izzat dete the unko. They would say ‘Hum aayenge aapko milne. Kaam ke liye aap hamare yahan nahi aa sakte’. Top actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Shammi Kapoor and top filmmakers like Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Yash Chopra etc worked with us and they all had a lot of love and respect for my father, and vice versa.
Once, I and my father had gone to meet a prominent actor. He had completed a film with us and our next film with him was going to start in a few months. We wanted to sign him and give him his fees for the second film. I was holding the briefcase that had the money. My father asked that actor much he’d like to be paid for the upcoming film. That actor was shy and he said, ‘Jaisa aap theek samjhe, Seth ji’. My father insisted, ‘Nahi, aap bataiye aapko kitna chahiye’. The actor again replied, ‘Nahi, aap jaisa theek samjhe’.
Believe it or not, this went on for almost 15-20 minutes! I got so restless. Then my father told him, ‘If you won’t tell me your fees, I won’t go ahead with the shoot’. That actor was paid Rs. 6 lakhs for the previous film and my father insisted that he should charge more for the next one. Finally, that actor said, ‘Aapne pichle film ke liye 6 lakh diye the. Iss baar 11 dijiye’!
I got the shock of my life! From Rs. 6 lakhs, he hiked his fees to Rs. 11 lakhs? But my father was nonchalant. He told me, ‘Inko briefcase mein se Rs. 11 lakhs de do’. I agreed. Suddenly, that actor said, ‘Seth ji, I didn’t ask for Rs. 11 lakhs. I meant that you should pay me Rs. 6 lakhs and 11 thousand’! My father asked him, ‘Are you sure you don’t want Rs. 11 lakhs?’ That actor replied, ‘Yes I am sure. Since you insisted that I should ask for more, I am hence asking for a hike of 11 thousand rupees’.
Those were different days. People used to understand the idea of commitment. Then, they used to understand value, now they understand price!
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