Pahlaj Nihalani Calls Govinda ‘Nasamjh' For This Reason
Pahlaj Nihalani shared that despite sharing a close bond with the iconic duo in the 90s, David Dhawan allegedly 'poisoned' Govinda's mind, leading to a rift.
Pahlaj Nihalani, who has launched Govinda in Bollywood, has made a series of shocking claims against director David Dhawan and the actor. The filmmaker, producer and former CBFC chief shared that despite sharing a close bond with the iconic duo in the 90s, the director allegedly 'poisoned' Govinda's mind, leading to a rift.
The filmmaker didn't hold back on his criticism of Govinda either. In an interview with journalist Vickey Lalwani, he called him 'naive" and attributed his career fall to the people he surrounds himself with. Pahlaj Nihalani said, 'Govinda was an all-rounder. He handled his career very well, but because of his weakness, he trusts people easily, and the atmosphere around him isn't good, that's why he wanders away."
'He keeps the company of pandits and the atmosphere he has around him and what he believes in. But people don't take those conversations seriously. These types of conversations and this aura are damaging for his career in the film industry," Nihalani added.
Referencing the 2007 hit Partner, Nihalani accused, 'Govinda is so naive that in Partner, David Dhawan wanted only Govinda to play that character, but it was claimed that David and Salman helped Govinda during his career slump. But Govinda got so emotional, and woh itna nasamajh hai. They acted like they were obliging Govinda, but they actually wanted only him to play that role. Govinda got so emotional… woh itna nasamajh hai," he added.
'David Dhawan had filled Govinda's mind with poison against me," Nihalani stated, adding that this made them cease all professional collaborations.
In the same interview, Pahlaj questioned David Dhawan's contribution to their hit film Aankhen (1993). He claimed that David was bitter against him, as he thought he earned money for him in the film, but the truth was that he was mostly absent during the shoot and functioned like a 'dummy director'.
'The story was mine, the screenplay I had written, the dialogues were written by Anees Bazmee, and I would also record the songs and shoot them. David was only there to shoot scenes. In fact, he was even absent for 27 days while shooting the climax. He came to Mumbai to shoot for another film. I did all the leftover work. I shot most of the action sequences. In all our films together, he did this," Nihalani claimed.
Despite these accusations, the filmmaker said he held no personal grudge at the time. He said, 'No, I wanted a dummy director. Though he got the director's credit, as a producer, I was a big name, so I didn't care."
First Published:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Govinda is ‘nasamajh', Pahlaj Nihalani says actor surrounds himself with pandits: ‘David Dhawan poisoned his mind'
Jun 21, 2025 06:09 AM IST Pahlaj Nihalani opened up about the downfall of Govinda's career and attributed the actor's bad company as a major factor. In an interview with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Pahlaj said that Govinda listened to a lot of people in the industry who did not mean well for him and surrounded himself with pundits. (Also read: Anil Kapoor is 'jhootha no 1' says Pahlaj Nihalani, slams him for calling Andaz B-grade film: He was desperate to do it) Pahlaj Nihalani talked about Govinda's downfall in an interview. Speaking about Govinda's downfall, Pahlaj began, 'Govinda was an all-rounder. He handled his career very well, but because of his 'weakness', he tends to trust people easily, which is why this happened. The atmosphere around him isn't good, that's why he wanders away. He keeps the company of pandits and astrologers, fortune tellers and the atmosphere he has around him and what he believes in. But people don't take those conversations seriously. These types of conversations and this aura are extremely damaging, which has affected his career in the film industry.' 'David Dhawan ne uske mind me zeher daal diya' He went on to add, 'He was a single-screen hero, and the time when multiplexes came, people stopped his films from releasing. Jab Govinda ka time aaya Partner ke baad toh uski filmein jitni aayi, logon ne usko neecha dikhaaya aur shows chalne nahi diye. David Dhawan uske saath kaam kar raha tha aur David Dhawan ne uske mind me zeher daal diya tha against me. Kyuki unko lagta tha main ne paisa kamaya, jabki meri picture sey unka naam hua (After Partner, many of his films were not released or stalled. David Dhawan was working with him that time and he poisoned his mind against me. He thought I was making money but did not see he also made his name with my films).' About Govinda's films Govinda had a string of hit films at the box office in the 90s, including Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, Hero No. 1, and Sajaan Chale Sasural. However, his films underperformed during the early 2000s. Now his son, Yashvardhan Ahuja, is all set to make his Bollywood debut soon with Sai Rajesh's film.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Chunky Pandey says actors prepare extensively for their roles these days: ‘Earlier, they didn't really prepare'
Bollywood actor recently spoke about the growth of the and expressed his admiration for today's actors, who prioritise preparing themselves for their roles. Chunky Pandey on Industry's growth In an interview with India Today, Chunky shared his thoughts on how filmmaking has evolved to become more methodical and structured. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'Today, what surprises me the most is that actors do a lot of preparation for movies. That's very surprising – earlier, they didn't really prepare. Now, it's a very good thing. I mean, I've also started preparing for films now,' he said. Chunky Pandey wishes to re release 'Vishwatma' Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Pathaan' enters Rs 200 crore club; mints Rs 52 crore at domestic box office on fourth day The 'Aankhen 'actor highlighted how modern filmmaking has become more scientific and planned. He acknowledged that the process now involves a lot of effort and detailed planning, in contrast to earlier times when everything was more spontaneous and experimental on set. He admitted that he misses those days filled with on-set fun and improvisation. 'This is the golden time of cinema – there are so many options today. There's big-screen cinema, OTT platforms, television, Instagram, YouTube. I think this is the best time to be around. You can be sitting in Kolkata and become a star,' Chunky added. When asked to name an old film he would like to see re-released, Chunky chose his 1992 movie 'Vishwatma'. Chunky Pandey's work front Chunky recently appeared in Detective Sherdil, alongside , Boman Irani, Banita Sandhu, and Diana Penty. Directed by Ravi Chhabriya, the film was released on an OTT platform yesterday (June 20). He is also enjoying the success of his recent comedy-suspense thriller 'Housefull 5', alongside and Abhishek Bachchan.
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Kuberaa box office collection day 1: Dhanush-starrer opens lower than Raayan, collects ₹13 crore
Kuberaa box office collection day 1: Sekhar Kammula's Kuberaa, with Dhanush, Nagarjuna, and Rashmika Mandanna, was one of the most anticipated releases of the year. The film received positive reviews upon release, with special attention for Dhanush's turn as a beggar. As per the latest update on Kuberaa has managed an opening day haul of less than ₹ 15 crore. (Also read: Kuberaa: CBFC cuts 19 scenes from Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika Mandanna-starrer, grants film UA certificate) Kuberaa box office collection day 1: Kuberaa marks Dhanush's first film in Telugu. The report points out that Kuberaa has collected ₹ 12.98 crore as per early estimates. The opening day collections of Kuberaa is lower than Dhanush's last theatrical release Raayan, which had collected ₹ 15.7 crore. Kuberaa had an overall Telugu occupancy of 50.19% on Friday. The occupancy for morning shows was 38.94%, and for afternoon shows, it was 54.58%. The numbers increased for the evening shows, at 57.04%. With positive word of mouth, Kuberaa is expected to hold on to its momentum as it enters the weekend. It faces some competition from Sitaare Zameen Par in the Hindi market. Kuberaa is produced by Suniel Narang and Puskur Rammohan Rao of Amigos Creations. On Friday, Dhanush and his son Linga watched the film on the first day, first show, at Rohini Silver Screens in Chennai. The actor looked emotional at the warm and energetic response to the film. In another video, he was seen overwhelmed with emotions as fans screamed for him, scaled the walls to catch a glimpse of him and shake his hand. His security were seen trying to control the crowd and asking people to get down. The pan-India release was cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), with a UA certificate after 19 scenes were cut from the original cut. It trimmed the film by 13 minutes and 41 seconds.
