Fifteen years ago, a film started a trend for south-style hero-centric masala entertainers. Filmmaker Prabhu Deva’s Wanted became a comeback for Salman Khan and it brought back the magic of the typical single screen movies. Remake of the Tamil hit Pokkiri (2007) by Prabhu Deva himself, it also starred Prakash Raj, Vinod Khanna, Ayesha Takia, Mahesh Manjrekar, Govind Namdeo and the late Inder Kumar.
15 years of Wanted EXCLUSIVE: Source of ‘commitment’ dialogue uttered by Salman Khan honestly disclosed by writer Shiraz Ahmed
Veteran screenwriter Shiraz Ahmed adapted the film in Hindi and also wrote the dialogues. In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, he said that Wanted is special for him for two reasons. “One is producer Boney Kapoor, who attempted to make this film. I had heard that he is a filmmaker, not a film producer. After knowing him, I realized he is much more than what I had heard. The other excitement was Salman Khan. I was working with him for the first time. As you said, people were not making such films then. At that time, there were some love stories being made,” he said.
Ahmed also credits director Prabhu Deva for the experience turning out to be memorable. “He brought a different type of energy in the film,” he said. “This is seen in the pace in which the film is moving. He is also one of world’s best dancers. So, to associate with all these people was an exciting proposal for me.”
Source of the famous ‘commitment’ dialogue uttered by Salman Khan
Wanted is known for its signature line delivered by Salman Khan, “Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di uske baad toh main khud ki bhi nahin sunta.” However, Shiraz Ahmed honestly revealed that he can’t claim credit for this dialogue. “I won’t claim that I had thought this line,” he said. “This line was there in Pokkiri and it is used in the film a few times. I just adapted how it would sound in Hindi. When I saw the film (Pokkiri) for the first time, I thought that even if we change other dialogues, this one should be retained.”
He added, “I feel there shouldn’t be any personal ego. If a producer has taken the rights of a film, you should keep its soul intact and you shouldn’t tamper with it. The soul is found in the dialogues too because dialogues make a character. There shouldn’t be literal translation, else it will get lost in translation. You need to ensure how its impact will stay the same in Hindi as well. It is God’s grace that it worked out.”
Wanted came at a time when there was not much control on writers
Ahmed recalled that Wanted happened at a time when there was no specific briefing given to the writers and they had a free hand. “Briefing has started happening in recent years after the corporatization of the film industry. But at that time, there was a complete trust on the writer and director. All the brief I got (for Wanted) was how would I adapt this in Hindi,” he said.
When writers attending shoots was a norm
Like a lot of writers, Shiraz Ahmed attends the shoot of all the film he writes. “I am not a bystander; I get involved in the shoot,” he said. “It depends on your rapport with the director. If both of them are on the same plane, the interactions and discussions keep happening on what is good for the film. In big films, few things also get changed as per the location.”
But he also pointed out that the scenario is changing now. “In the last few years, the process of filmmaking has become clinical. Although there are people who follow the earlier norms (like writers attending shoots), mostly it has become like this. Once a film starts shoot, the writer has no involvement. But this hasn’t happened with me in all my films so far,” he said.
Shiraz Ahmed amazed by Prakash Raj’s humility and respect
Shiraz Ahmed revealed that improvisation by actors on the set happens a lot. He said that there are also times, when one is compelled to improvise. He explained, “Sometimes you write a line which you like a lot. But when an actor utters it, the impact isn’t as much, or he isn’t saying it with as much feeling or it doesn’t go with his nature. Then you make those subtle changes. It is a continuous process of improvisation. After a scene is shot, there can be a lot of changes in the editing as well.”
Ahmed recalled how he thought of a line on the sets of Wanted in a scene where the police commissioner (Govind Namdeo) catches Prakash Raj’s character by his hair and asks what he is planning. “I was standing there and I thought of an additional line. I was working with Prakash Raj ji for the first time. I didn’t know how to suggest as every actor has a different approach. After the shot, I went up to him and suggested him to include one line. You won’t believe, he got happy like a kid as he understood that it will evoke laughter. He implemented it in the next shot. It was a delight working with him. We saw him switch over to comedy in a second, which is so difficult to pull off,” he said.
Wanted started a series of comic-villain roles for Prakash Raj in Bollywood
Following Wanted, Prakash Raj played the character of a comic villain in a number of films like Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap (2011), Singham (2011), Dabangg 2 (2012), etc. Speaking on this, Ahmed said, “It was a phase where such roles were written for Prakash Raj because he could pull them off. He has presented a comic villain in such different ways that you feel ki kamaal hai yeh aadmi.”
Wanted received a surprising certification from the CBFC aka Censor Board
Wanted, over the years, is enjoyed by families, including kids. However, the film was given an Adult certificate by the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) when it released. “The reason was violence,” explained Shiraz Ahmed. “At that time, this phase (of masala action films) hadn’t started. There are 4-5 people from different strata of society that make the decision. So, you have to respect that. At that time, their point of view was that the violence was too much. Today, such films are passed with U certificate. It depends on the time period. Boney ji was very confident with the film. He said he won’t cut anything.”
Also Read: Salman Khan shows off his dance moves on ‘Mera Hi Jalwa’ from Wanted, watch video
More Pages: Wanted Box Office Collection , Wanted Movie Review
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