Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 26, 2019)

“Sara sheher mujhe Loin ke naam se jaanta hai…” The distinctive baritone, with a slight nasal twang, which pronounced these words with a glint of menace in the eyes and much conviction, may have been silenced, but the memory of a suave, soft-spoken gentleman-baddie who, in reel life, never did the dirty work himself, is still vivid.

I met Ajit saab who played 'Loin' of the 1976 action-drama Kalicharan, masquerading as an honest do-gooder Din Dayal, decades later. By then, the cult villain had retired from showbiz. We spent a happy afternoon at his Bandra apartment, going through three dusty, bulky albums, with him explaining the genesis of each photograph. Our conversation revolved around Madhubala, the Venus of Hindi cinema and his muhboli bahen, since I was writing a piece on her. However, with his silver mane and Pathan build, he still looked every inch the ‘Loin’, though a benign one.

“Kalicharan was the first film I directed and the role of Din Dayal aka Lion had been written with Ajit saab in mind,” reminisces Subhash Ghai, 43 years later. “So, when I was narrating the script to my producer, N N Sippy, I unconsciously imitated Ajit saab’s voice and mannerisms while speaking his lines. I was delighted when I got the go ahead to take the role to him.”

The plot with all its ingenious twists and turns appealed to the veteran actor. But after letting him speak without interruption for around 40 minutes, he informed the enthusiastic young director that he wanted to say something. “Ajit saab then went on to tell me that since he was from the stage, his performances tended to get a little theatrical. ‘I will do your film, but you have to make sure I don’t go overboard. Mujhe sambhal lena,’ he said, his modesty touching my heart,” the filmmaker flashbacks.

He assured the senior actor that the character had been penned with him in mind, so it was okay for Ajit saab to get a little dramatic at times. He had full confidence in his acting prowess and knew he would pull off the role with panache. “But all through the shoot, he was like an obedient student, following my instructions, on intonation, voice modulation and histrionics to the T,” Subhash ji marvels.

It was only on one count that he let Ajit saab have his way. “He would pronounce ‘Lion’ as ‘Loin’ and I consciously did not correct him, knowing that his diction would make the word distinctive. And I was right. Four decades later, people still remember him by that dialogue,” he exults, remembering him as a thorough gentleman who was the perfect match for Shatrughan Sinha, fiery in the double role of Inspector Prabhakar and hardened criminal Kalicharan who is sprung out of jail to end the Loin’s reign of terror.

Apart from being Hindi cinema’s unforgettable ‘Loin King’, Ajit saab also spawned a cottage industry of jokes on the eponymous Bass (Boss) to his molls, Mona Darling and Silly Lily, and his henchmen, Mikal (Michael), Raabert (Robert), Tony and Peter. And even though these jokes never got a laugh out of him, I can’t but repeat one of them here.

Raabert has twins and wants the Bass to christen them. He is quick to oblige, “Eka ka naam rakho Peter…”

Raabert beams and urges, “Boss, aur doosre ka?” Pat comes the reply, “Repeater.”

With the third Baaghi film, producer Sajid Nadiadwala and director Ahmed Khan up the action ante by pitting their hero against a location; the film will be shot in Georgia, Serbia, Turkey and India
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 11, 2019)

Ahmed Khan who recently returned to the Bay from Agra where he was on a recce for the third instalment of the Sajid Nadiadwala-produced Baaghi franchise which reunites Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor, is all set to take the action one level up in the film which is expected to roll by August-end. He promises that his leading man “will cross all limits this time”, pointing out that after the previous film, the responsibility has multiplied three-fold and he has to make sure that he delivers on expectations.

“In Baaghi 2, Tiger jumped off a cliff to land on a mid-air chopper. He also performed stunts on water. This time we have him taking over a city and breaking it down, besides jumping off cliffs and skyscrapers and setting off blasts,” informs Ahmed.

As part of his prep, his hero will be going to Israel to train in Krav Maga as soon as he wraps up his film with Hrithik Roshan. Krav Maga is a military self-defence and fighting system developed for the Israel Defence Forces and security, derived from a combination of techniques sourced from boxing, wrestling, aikido, judo, karate and realistic fighting. “Tiger will be there for eight-10 days and is really looking forward to it. He has so much to give and always up for it,” says the director.

After Israel, the actor will be travelling to Georgia for training in machine guns, pistols, shotguns and other weapons. “We are not naming any place in particular and will be filming in Georgia, Turkey and Serbia. We are also building sets and have a schedule in India too and should lock the location by this week,” says Ahmed who will be travelling to Georgia a couple of more times before the film rolls.

He is all praise for his leading lady who will next be seen with Prabhas in Saaho which opens on Independence Day. “It’s a different kind of action for Shraddha, not gimmicky or typical maar-dhaad. It’s a combination of mind and speed, very slick and international. We are still planning what kind of training she will need to go through, but I can assure that she will surprise everyone,” promises Ahmed who has Chashme Buddoor and Katha director Sai Paranjpye’s grandson Abeer Abhyankar and yesteryear villain ‘Loin’ Ajit’s grandson Faaris Khan assisting him on the film. “I have known them for a while, they had assisted me on a commercial earlier. Sai ma’am and Ajit saab have given so much to the industry, we can only take their legacy forward,” he signs off with a smile.