In the first half of July, the 1998 cult crime drama of Ram Gopal Varma, Satya, clocked 24 years. Now, the lead actor of the film JD Chakravarthy recently interacted with ETimes to travel back in time and recall a slew of fascinating behind-the-scenes stories that occurred during the film’s shooting. One of them included a call from superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
It so happened that filmmaker Mani Ratnam was one of the few closest acquaintances of JD Chakravarthy around the release of Satya. The renowned director at the time was working with Shah Rukh Khan for Dil Se and both of them got the opportunity to watch the film together before it hit the box office. Mani Ratnam and Shah Rukh Khan were so impressed by the influential storyline of the movie that they personally called Chakravarthy just a day before its cinema premiere.
According to Chakravarthy, Mani Ratnam did not inform him before passing the phone to Khan, he only addressed that “Somebody wants to talk to you”. Initially, Chakravarthy probed this person to reveal his identity, but the voice on the other side of the line only had one question for him. “Doesn’t matter who is talking, just answer one question. If Satya is to become a disaster, what do you think we should do?”
After considerate insistence, Shah Rukh Khan revealed his identity leaving Chakravarthy a tad bit offended. The actor did not have any answer to Khan’s question and revealed that he directed the same question right back at him. “Shah Rukh, I am not as talented and intelligent as you. You tell me what we should do if ‘Satya’ turns out to be a disaster,” said the lead actor. The superstar had a sly answer in store for him. He joked, “It’s simple. ‘Satya’ mein jo JD Chakravarthy hain na usko nikaal kar film mein Shah Rukh Khan ko daal do (replace JD Chakravarthy with Shah Rukh Khan).”
The answer left Chakravarthy confused, but when Shah Rukh Khan followed it up with another punchline, the former broke into laughter. “Agar aap mujhe film mein daaloge toh main film ka one two ka four kar doonga,” added Khan. Chakravarthy now knew that Khan was trying to pull his leg but in the end, the superstar praised him for his hard work and determination. “You are so, bloody good man. And the film is so good,” he said. The compliment ended their brief conversation and left Chakravarthy utterly happy.
The plot of Satya follows the life of an immigrant who comes to the city of dreams Mumbai looking for a better job. In an unfortunate turn of events, he is befriended by gangster Bhiku Mhatre (played by Manoj Bajpayee) and is drawn into the dark underworld of the metropolitan city.
