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I do not shoot my mouth off now'

Sajid Khan says how he has mellowed down with age and after a couple of flops.

The director is planning his own comedy show which has almost received sanction from a channel

Director/producer Sajid Khan will be one of the judges in the talent hunt reality show Dramebaaz which will soon be aired on Zee TV. Talking about the kids’ show, Sajid says, “Earlier I would feel that parents would push their kids a lot and unnecessarily pressurise them, and so I would snub them. But now at 44, I am more mature. I have eased up a lot.
“Most of the kids come here to have fun but some of the parents, maybe 30 per cent of them, pressurise the kids for winning. I feel very bad to tell the kids to try next year. They are so cute, they just nod their heads and go away. This is when I really feel bad.”

“Having dealt with Farah’s (his sister) daughters over the last few years, I have developed a lot of patience with kids,” he adds. Recollecting his childhood days, Sajid says, “My father was a filmmaker but he made B-grade films. However, he always aimed at making a big film. He never saved money, as all his savings would go into his next film. He had planned to make a big film with Sanjeev Kumar and had put all his money into it. We had four flats and four cars; the film took off but was not completed. We went bankrupt. My parents got divorced. I was going to a super-rich kids school and suddenly we had to shift to Shivaji Nagar slums. So I have had the experience of both lives.

“Mom was working at Sea Rock hotel for a salary of Rs 500 and Farah was a part time journalist and then she started choreographing. I felt I should also contribute and start earning money. I remember I wanted to see the movie, Mazdoor, starring Dilip Kumar at Chandan Cinema. A friend and I had just Rs 5 in our pockets but the tickets were being sold in black for '25. We went to Juhu beach and started dancing and performing for money�we collected around Rs 55 to Rs 60. I then realised I had the gift of making people laugh.”

But he did not always stick to the straight and narrow path and moved towards delinquency. “I have participated in robberies as well,” says Sajid, adding, “But when I was 14 I said to myself bahut ho gaya. And I decided to sell my talent. At one of the college functions, the sound had conked off and the boys pushed me on stage. I remember Mithun da and Amitabh Bachchan were also there.”

Sajid says that he has one regret. “I regret having fought with Sajid Nadiadwala. But now we are back together and we just joke and say that in our 17 years’ of friendship, two years’ of enmity is permitted. We did not talk for almost two years but we are back now. We have patched up and there’s no more dushmani.” He adds that he is never arrogant. “I am not arrogant but yes I am rude. As a host and a dost I would pass remarks on the flop films of all the filmmakers. But now after having tasted a flop I have realised that I should try to be politically correct. My films are not reviewed but I am reviewed because I have been a big mouth. However with age I too have matured and now I try to avoid making statements that do not go down well with people.”

He says that being single is the most stress free thing for him. “Yes I have dated�as a teen I would date not one but four girls at a time. But I will never talk ill about any of them.
“Being single I feel is a boon� why do you guys want me to push me into hell by getting me married?”

About his future plans, Sajid says, “I am planning my own TV show which has almost got sanction from a channel. This show will be a comedy and I will host it. If all goes well we will begin telecast by May or June. I am also making a film with UTV, it’s an official remake of a Korean film. Unavailability of writers is taking some time. In our industry, the most difficult thing is to get writers. We may get the artistes and their dates but getting someone to pen a story down is the most difficult thing.”

( Source : deccan chronicle )
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