Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 17, 2019)

On August 15, 2003, Salman Khan’s Radhe stormed into the theatres. Director Satish Kaushik who’d gone for an Independence Day celebration to Jallianwala Bagh with Jeetendra and Anupam Kher, was disappointed when his flight was delayed and he missed the Delhi premiere. But by the next day, they knew their out-of-the-box gamble and a mainstream star had paid off. People loved Salman in Tere Naam, even when he was in a kachcha, locked up as insane. And as the bad boy, they loved his jeans, jackets and wayward locks.

“Barber shops, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, have posters advertising the cut,” informs Satish, saying it was his hero’s brainwave. “He wasn’t happy while shooting in Hyderabad, so he dashed to Mumbai and returned after two days with his hair set, flipping it back in a way that was soon widely copied.”

Boney Kapoor had wanted to remake Vikram’s 1999 Tamil romance drama, Sethu, with Ram Gopal Varma. Then, the rights passed to Nitin Manmohan, before landing with Sunil Manchanda and Mukesh Talreja. During an ad film shoot, Sunil confided that no director wanted to do the film and Satish who’d seen the original and was free, jumped on board. He had three hits—Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai and Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai —all South remakes, behind him, and when he met Salman, he was told he’d been on their radar. They kicked off on a set in Film City within a fortnight since the actor had already shaved his head for the scenes in the asylum.

The film was earlier titled Radhe, but Satish recalled Jaan Tere Naam, which had released almost a decade ago, and suggested they drop ‘Jaan’ and call their film ‘Tere Naam’. They also got Himesh Reshammiya to compose the title track after a couple of songs had been recorded. “His ‘ Odhni’ and ‘ O Jaana’ along with the title track are playing even today,” Satish says.

He could have got any top heroine opposite Salman, but looking for a simple, pretty girl, he spotted Bhumika Chawla in a Telugu TV show while at Boney and Sridevi’s house. Boney admitted even he’d thought of her for the film. She’d done an ad with Sunil and lived behind Satish’s house. “She came with some pictures shot in a small studio and I knew I had found my Nirjara,” the director smiles. The original had the couple meeting at a tea stall, in the remake, they decided to set their scenes in a railway station canteen. “Bhumika suggested Devlali station and since not many trains halted there and we wanted them in the frame, we shot those scenes around the timetable of the trains.”

The film, based on the real-life story of Sethu director Bala’s friend, is considered one of Salman’s best performances despite his apprehensions that Radhe was not a good role model for youngsters. “There are boys like him in small towns and the audience connected with Radhe,” reasons Satish who learnt a lot from his hero and recently, during Bharat, they shared some fond memories.

He has a script for the sequel but has yet to take it to Salman. “Tere Naam is a milestone in our careers and I’m glad despite pressures we stuck to the original end. We might have made a little more money with a happily-ever-after love story, but it’s the tragic romances that live on in people’s hearts,” Satish says.

Tamannaah Bhatia and Bhumika Chawla join him in Tamil remake
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 15, 2017)

Bhumika Chawla returns to Bollywood after nine years
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 27, 2016)

Bhumika Chawla's last Hindi film was the Anil Kapoor produced 2007 biographical drama, Gandhi, My Father. She played Gulab, Mahatma Gandhi's daughter-in-law and the wife of his son Hiralal. Soon after its release, she married long-time boyfriend and yoga guru Bharat Thakur. She continued working in movies down South, but dropped out of the Bollywood radar and returns, almost a decade later, as Sushant Singh Rajput's sister, Jayanti, in Neeraj Pandey's upcoming biopic, M S Dhoni - The Untold Story.

Bhumika insists the break wasn't intentional and she'd signed Jab We Met but the production house changed and so did the cast, from Bobby Deol and her to Bobby and Ayesha Takia to Ayesha and Shahid Kapoor before being made with Kareena Kapoor and Shahid. "I was also offered Juhi Chawla's role in My Brother...Nikhil, but things didn't work out,"she sighs.

Any regrets about losing out on Imtiaz Ali's love story? "No, when I saw Kareena's performance I was certain no one could have played Geet better," asserts Bhumika. There have been constant rumours that her husband didn't want her to work. She laughs, "For a man who himself is a workaholic, having a wife sitting at home chewing his brain is the last thing he'd want." But reportedly, five years ago, there was trouble in paradise? The 38-year-old actress reasons that like every other couple, they had difference of opinions but nothing so serious for them to divorce.

She however admits that six years ago, she hadn't wanted to produce the Telugu film Thakita Thakita and had only agreed because Bharat insisted. "We were living in Hyderabad then and he had some close friends in the industry. He got really excited about this film and as his wife, I stood by him," she says. The film bombed and today she insists she'll never get into something unless she is really sure.

For now the focus is the biopic and she's not worried about moving to sister roles, pointing out that Priyanka Chopra played Ranveer Singh's sister in Dil Dhadakne Do and his wife in Bajirao Mastani. Even Aishwarya Bachchan played Randeep Hooda's sister in Sarbjit but is now romancing Ranbir Kapoor in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. "As long as I'm a part of a good film and the role is worth leaving my two-year-old son Yash back home I'm happy," she says.

Bhumika's still remembered as Salman Khan's Tere Naam girl and bumped into him in Dubai a year-and-a-half ago. "During Tere Naam he was really sweet and patient with me," she reminisces with a smile.

Sonil Dedhia (BOMBAY TIMES; November 17, 2015)

Karthik Pasupulate (BOMBAY TIMES; March 1, 2014)

Actress Bhumika Chawla of Tere Naam fame gave birth to a baby boy recently. About her first reaction on seeing the baby, she says, “I was excited and had this rush of emotions. Both Bharat (Thakur) and I had tears of joy.”

“It’s been a beautiful journey right from pregnancy to becoming a mother. It’s hard to find words to describe the gamut of emotions I’m going through,” she shares, adding, “I guess sleepless nights go hand-in-hand with motherhood. But it’s just the most incredible feeling in the world.”

However, the actress is unsure about who the boy resembles more, her or Bharat. “I don’t know. He’s a combination of both of us, I guess,” says the actress, who is in the process of choosing a name for the newborn. “We will have the official namkaran ceremony in a couple of days. We still haven’t zeroed in on the name,” she explains.

While it’s obvious that her life will revolve around her baby from now on, Bhumika says she will never give up acting. “I’ve never really stopped working. I worked during my pregnancy. Last year, when I was working on April Fool, everyone asked me if this was my comeback film. I never really left to make a comeback. Well, the movie did not release and I guess that’s why people have been asking me the same question,” she says.