Swades (2004) completed 20 years on December 17 and it featured fine performances from every actor, including superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Makarand Deshpande was hardly there for 10 minutes but he’s very fondly remembered even today due to his superb character and also because he was a part of the much-loved road trip track, ‘Yun Hi Chala Chal’. Makarand Deshpande is credited as Fakir in the IMDb credits and he’s the one who shows Mohan Bhargav (SRK) the road to his village. The Fakir is given a lift by Mohan and both bond over ‘Yun Hi Chala Chal’. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Makarand Deshpande talked highly of his experience.
20 Years of Swades EXCLUSIVE: Makarand Deshpande reveals, “During ‘Yunhi Chala Chal’ alaap, Shah Rukh Khan told me, ‘Tera sync theek nahin ho raha hai’. I told him, ‘Theek kara de’! He was driving, talking on the walking-talkie and even helping me with the scene. And I was chilling…”
The veteran actor began by talking about his long association with Swades’s producer-director Ashutosh Gowariker. He acted in Gowariker’s debut film Pehla Nasha (1993) and was even offered a role in Lagaan.
Makarand said, “Sometimes, the role chooses you. You don’t choose them. In Lagaan (2001), he gave me an open offer, ‘Jo marzi ho, woh role kar’ as I am a cricketer in real life. Sadly, due to personal reasons, I couldn’t do it. When he was prepping for Swades, he made me hear the song. I asked him, ‘Yeh gaana kaun kar raha hai? Mujhe karna hai yeh gaana’! He purposely made me hear the song as he wanted me to play the role. But before he could ask me, I expressed my interest. He cautioned me, ‘Ek hi scene hai’. But I had no qualms as the song was so mazedaar that I didn’t want to miss it. He narrated the scene which was also very nice, especially the dialogue ‘Mod galat nahin hote, insaan galat hote hai’.”
Makarand Deshpande continued, “With Swades, Ashutosh, Shah Rukh and I worked together after 13 years. We had worked on Circus after which Ashutosh went on another level when he did Lagaan. Shah Rukh, meanwhile, became the King Khan. As for me, I had invested those 13 years in theatre. Hence, it was great to reunite with them on the sets of Swades.”
Makarand Deshpande further said, “Sometimes, good things just come together. Javed Akhtar saab wrote incredible lyrics. Then Kailash Kher and Udit Narayan sang it beautifully. The caravan, however, took the cake!”
Speaking about the caravan, he revealed, “The choreographers were Raju Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker. We shot for 4 days on the Mumbai-Bangalore highway. The difficult part was for Shah Rukh. I was enjoying myself but he had to drive. Driving the trailer was not a joke, that too on the expressway. He drove for many hours, in fact.”
He also stated, “Shah Rukh had to also communicate on the walkie-talkie. During the alaap, he told me, ‘Tera sync theek nahin ho raha hai’. I told him, ‘Theek kara de’! He was driving, talking on the walking talkie and even helping me with the scene. And I was chilling and having a great time!”
But Makarand Deshpande also had his share of challenges, “For me, what was difficult was to sit atop the trailer. Hawa itni tez chal rahi thi aur pakadne ke liye kuch tha nahin. It looks fun but it was not easy to shoot that part.”
Fascinating improvisation, the water connection
A part of the song is shot outside the vehicle when Shah Rukh Khan and Makarand Deshpande break into a lovely dance. On this, he said, “We were wondering about the step and that’s when Raju Khan said, ‘Makarand ko chhod do. Woh karega’. Shah Rukh said, ‘Chalega. I’ll follow him’. If you observe, he is following my dance. It was done in one take.”
Makarand’s track ends when he gets down from the trailer. As a token of gratitude, Mohan offers him a bottle of water. The fakir is stunned by this gesture. When asked about it, Makarand Deshpande said, “Ashu added it on the spot that he gives my character something in return for helping him. And it worked out well as water is an important aspect in the film. Ashu is someone who’s particular about what gesture to have in a particular shot. But he gave me a lot of freedom. We really had a great time. You see us having a good time in the song but while shooting as well, we were similarly having a blast.”
His cameo is also one-of-its-kind. We often see actresses appearing in special dance numbers or in item songs. But Ashutosh chose to have Makarand as the item boy! The actor laughed at this and said, “Yes, correct. That’s Ashu’s greatness. Also, Hariharan is singing in the song played on the radio. The same singer is not singing our lines. Different singers were signed for it.”
Life after Swades
The impact of his cameo has been significant. Makarand exulted, “Whenever I am travelling the airport, I meet so many people who tell me that they are fans of Swades. They also tell me that ‘Hum jab bhi road trip ke liye nikalte ho toh Swades ka gaana hi bajta hai’! That’s incredible to hear 20 years after the film’s release.”
6 years after Swades, Makarand Deshpande directed Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu (2010), which featured SRK in a cameo. Is he still in touch with him? Makarand replied, “I am not in touch and don’t have his number. But I am sure that if I ever message him, he’ll definitely reply. And if he sees me, toh gale toh mil hi lenge. Yeh sab purane rishte hai. When you meet someone in the beginning of your journey, they can’t be forgotten easily. And we spent a lovely, youthful time.”
History repeats after 20 years
Recently, both also came together in a way as they dubbed for the recently released flick, Mufasa: The Lion King. In Swades, the Fakir shows the path to Mohan. The same happens in the animated film as Rafiki, voiced by Makarand, guides the protagonist, which had a voiceover by Shah Rukh. Makarand marvels at this comparison, “Isn’t it the same thing; it’s like life coming back full circle.”
And that’s not all. Mufasa: The Lion King was released in the same week when Swades completed 20 years. Makarand marvelled again, “Batao. You put it right; it’s an amazing coincidence.”
More Pages: Swades Box Office Collection , Swades Movie Review
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