In his latest interview, Chopra recalled how Rajesh Khanna was always late to the film sets saying, “If there was a 9 o’clock shift, he would come at 12,” the actor told Lehren. However, all that was going to change when he signed on for the film ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’.
Recalling his time on the sets, Prem said that producer, Chinnappa Thevar, was a very strict man and went all out to make sure his lead star was on the set in time. To prevent any delays, he even sent a man to fetch Khanna at 6 o’clock, but sadly to no avail.
“Even then, Rajesh Khanna would arrive on set by 11 or 12,” he said, adding that the actor was a ‘very big hero’.
That’s when Thevar appointed a man who he would beat and abuse, every time Khanna arrived late on set. “He would yell, ‘Don’t we give you money? Why do you come late?’ Rajesh Khanna understood what was happening. He became regular afterwards,” the actor said.
Rajesh and Prem went on to work together in a number of films including ‘Kati Patang’, ‘Prem Nagar’ and ‘Doli Do Raaste’, among others.
