25 Years of 1947 Earth: Rahul Khanna's first shot in his debut film involving kissing Nandita Das: "I couldn't believe that I was getting paid to do this"

The acclaimed film 1947 Earth (1999), directed by Deepa Mehta, completed 25 years on September 10. It was special for many reasons – it featured Aamir Khan in a rare negative role, its song ‘Rut Aa Gayi Re’ has a strong recall value, it told a story that is relevant even today, etc. Another memorable factor of the film was that it served as the acting debut of Rahul Khanna, the actor who today has a huge fan base for his looks and talent. In an interview with Indian Express in 2019, the actor spoke about his memorable experience of shooting the film.

Explaining how he bagged the role, he revealed that Deepa Mehta was in Chennai for a meeting with the film’s composer A R Rahman when she turned on the TV and saw him hosting a music request show on MTV Asia. Rahul said, “She thought I'd be perfect for the role of Hassan, the romantic lead of the film and asked her casting director, Uma DaCunha to reach out to me. I was living and working in Singapore at the time and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Mumbai to meet with her.”

Rahul Khanna was so excited for the first day of the shoot that he didn’t sleep the night before. His call time was around 4:00 am at Tughlaqabad Fort in Delhi, that too in freezing cold temperatures. Sadly, the day didn’t go as expected. Rahul Khanna revealed, “I stepped out of the makeup trailer where David Hamilton, the producer, was waiting for me. He solemnly gave me the news that Deepa had fallen terribly sick, couldn’t even get out of bed and that they had no choice but to cancel the shoot that day! I was like, ‘Damn! I hope this isn’t some sort of omen!’”

Fortunately for Rahul Khanna, Deepa Mehta recovered and he finally shot for his first scene in his debut film the next day. Incidentally, the shot required him to kiss Nandita Das. Rahul Khanna remarked, “I don’t remember being nervous at all. Instead I (couldn’t believe) that I was getting paid to do this!”

In another interview, he revealed that a mini-riot broke out on the sets of the film, which, incidentally, is based on the riots during the Partition. During an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, we asked Rahul Khanna to describe this episode.

He said, “It was the scene where all the characters are watching violent riots from the terrace of a house. We were shooting all night in a very populous area of old Delhi if I remember correctly. Some of the locals got a little too excited by all the activity and a mini riot actually broke out! It got a little tense but, thankfully, we were able to be transported out of there safely and no one was hurt.”

How did his father Vinod Khanna and brother Akshaye Khanna, both of whom are actors, react to his debut performance? Rahul Khanna said, “My dad and Akshaye were both supportive and appreciative. My dad was actually in New York for an appearance at the time and flew to Toronto for the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. He’d had dinner with M F Husain the evening before leaving and mentioned it in passing. Mr Husain was like, ‘I want to come, too!’ He booked himself on the same flight. So, it was quite special to have them both there (smiles).”

Also Read: 25 Years of 1947 Earth EXCLUSIVE: Nandita Das reveals that despite being a star, Aamir Khan was treated just like any other unit member on the sets: “The working environment on the sets was egalitarian and different from what he was probably used to”

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