Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 22, 2014)

Talented actor Govinda will play Ranbir Kapoor’s father in Anurag Basu’s film Jagga Jasoos. He will also be seen as Alia Bhatt’s father in Vikas Bahl’s next film, Shaandaar.

The character apparently has shades of comedy to it. The buzz is that filmmakers seem to be looking at the actor anew, but in the papa mode – they feel he can be a cool dad.

It is well known that Salman Khan is extremely keen that Govinda play the dad’s role in his production — a remake of Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi film Shikshanacha Aaichya Gho. On his part, the actor had his reservations as he felt that he couldn’t essay such a strict father’s role. The buzz is that he has demanded a change in the script.

Says an industry observer, “Govinda has finally decided to accept such roles. He is a father with grown-up kids in real-life, so he thinks he can play one on screen as well. He tried to be youthful with his 2011 film, Naughty @ 40, but it proved to be a dud. He is aware that he might be offered similar stuff, but he knows that now he cannot do what he did decades ago.”

Govinda says, “I can’t talk about the roles I have signed on, as the contracts do not allow me to do so.
But I can do all kinds of roles that I feel are not bad for my career. At the same time, I don’t know why everybody is so keen that I play a father’s role. I am not so insecure; I have had no release in the past four years.”

Interestingly, he is just 50 years old, while many actors like Anil Kapoor, who are older than him, have steered clear of getting into the B-Town father mould.