In a flashback interview with Lehren, director Vikram Bhatt shared how Aamir Khan's famous train scene in Ghulam (1998) was filmed. Bhatt talked about the careful planning and timing needed to keep Aamir safe while making the scene look intense. He also praised Aamir’s fearless acting, which made the scene so memorable.
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00:00I spent 11 years as an assistant, with Mukul Anand,
00:02with Shakir Kapoor, with Mahesh Bhatt.
00:05And then I got my first break in Mahesh Bhatt's company.
00:08It was like a training school.
00:10Everything that could go wrong with a new director,
00:13happened with me.
00:14No distributor wanted to buy my film.
00:17No actor wanted to work with me.
00:20Because I didn't have a hit film.
00:25All my friends in the film industry
00:27left me alone at that time.
00:30So when we were shooting, the train came at a speed of 45 kmph.
00:34And no one knew.
00:35And Aamir's judgement was 30 kmph.
00:37So he jumped and the train left.
00:39So he missed the train by one second.
00:43Sir, where did you start your direction?
00:47Look, I spent 11 years as an assistant in this industry.
00:51With Mukul Anand, with Shakir Kapoor, with Mahesh Bhatt.
00:56And then I got my first break in Mahesh Bhatt's company.
00:59It was a film called Jaanam.
01:02Because I had been an assistant in this company.
01:05And I had worked a lot for Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt.
01:09So they saw my work.
01:12And they felt that maybe I could become a director.
01:17So they gave me a break.
01:18The name of the film was Jaanam.
01:20Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt were in it.
01:24My first film was for a special film.
01:26It was released in 1993, I think.
01:30What would you say about Jaanam?
01:32Being your first film.
01:34Jaanam...
01:38...is not close to my heart.
01:41Because in Jaanam, as a director, I made a lot of mistakes.
01:47If I watch Jaanam today, I feel that...
01:51...from the choice of subject to the choice of location,
01:56...choice of actor, everything was wrong in the film.
02:02So Jaanam is actually, for me,
02:07...a reminder of what I should never do.
02:12So it's difficult.
02:14It's hard to say.
02:17But you have to live with the fact that
02:19...the first film was not a good experience. It was a mistake.
02:22Your first films didn't do well.
02:25Is there a reason behind that?
02:27Look, my first four films,
02:30...I can't say anything special about them.
02:34Because Jaanam was Madhosh, Gunegar and Bambai Ka Babu.
02:38All four films didn't do well for me.
02:41All four films had their own reasons for not doing well.
02:45In Jaanam, it was my fault.
02:50Madhosh, the film was good,
02:53...but the story was very routine.
02:56It was nothing new.
02:59Gunegar, the film was very good,
03:02...but the release didn't go well.
03:05Bambai Ka Babu was also good, but the censor cut it in half.
03:11So it's like fate,
03:14...like a training school,
03:17...that everything that could go wrong with a new director, happened with me.
03:22The story went wrong, the actor went wrong,
03:25...the censor gave me trouble,
03:28...the release didn't go well,
03:31...the producer made a mistake,
03:35...I didn't understand.
03:37I consider myself very lucky today.
03:42Because everything that could go wrong with a new director, happened with me.
03:49And I learnt from these things.
03:51I learnt that a regular subject won't do.
03:54I learnt that there's no point in making a very bold subject,
03:59...because it won't pass the censor.
04:01I learnt about the problems of a producer,
04:04...and how a director should be cautious at the time of release.
04:07I learnt all this from my flops.
04:12And the industry doesn't think whether you're a hit or a flop.
04:20The industry doesn't look for your hit or flop,
04:23...it says whether you're a hit or a flop.
04:27I was a flop director after four films.
04:30I didn't have a job.
04:34So I met Mukesh ji again.
04:38It's a strange story, I met Mukesh ji at a party.
04:47He was also drinking.
04:51He said to me,
04:53...Janam is not your fault,
04:55...you're new, we should make a film together.
04:59I thought he's meeting me after so many years,
05:02...so maybe he's treating me well.
05:07So I never went to meet him.
05:10After a month, I met him again.
05:13We met again at a restaurant.
05:15And again, we had something to drink.
05:19He again said, you didn't come to meet me.
05:22I said, no, I'll come.
05:24Still I didn't go, I thought he's just saying that.
05:28I didn't have a job.
05:31Then he called me in the afternoon.
05:34He said, I'm calling you in the afternoon,
05:36...I'm not meeting you at a party or a restaurant,
05:39...do you want to make a film or not?
05:41I said, yes.
05:42He said, come right now.
05:44Then I went to meet Mukesh ji.
05:50Mukesh ji said he wanted to make a film.
05:54And that's when Faraib started.
05:58And Faraib was my last chance.
06:04Because with Faraib, no one was ready to work with me.
06:09No distributor wanted to buy my film.
06:12No actor wanted to work with me.
06:15Because I didn't have a hit film.
06:20All my friends in the industry,
06:22...they also left me.
06:26So I felt very lonely.
06:29And maybe because of that loneliness,
06:32...I was able to make a successful film.
06:35Because I didn't have any other way,
06:39...except for myself.
06:41I just had to trust myself.
06:43And I had to prove that I could do it or not.
06:46I didn't have a star,
06:49...I didn't have a big budget,
06:52...so I worked very hard on Faraib.
06:55And I think by God's grace, the film went well.
07:00That gave me a new lease of life.
07:02How did you get Aamir Khan's Ghulam?
07:06Faraib was released.
07:08And it went well.
07:12And Bhatt sahib was doing Ghulam.
07:15And Bhatt sahib had a lot of films.
07:19And Aamir wanted Bhatt sahib to do only Ghulam.
07:25And Bhatt sahib didn't have any other way to do just one film.
07:30Because he had a lot of commitments, he was very busy.
07:33So he decided amicably,
07:35...that I can't do just one film,
07:37...because there are other commitments,
07:39...so I won't do this.
07:41So when this came up, who would do it?
07:43Bhatt sahib said, there are two directors in my company.
07:46One is Vikram Bhatt and the other is Tanuja Chandra.
07:49So because Aamir had worked with me before,
07:51...I had worked with Madhosh for his company,
07:54...and I was an assistant in Dil Hai Ke Maantani,
07:56...and I was an assistant in Humairaai Pyaar Ke.
07:58So Aamir said, I know Vicky, we'll work with Vicky.
08:02And Faraib was also doing well.
08:06So that's how I became the director of Ghulam.
08:10I remember the shooting of Dastak that day.
08:13And the production people found out before me,
08:17...that I had become the director of Ghulam.
08:19I didn't know.
08:21So I got a call early in the morning.
08:23Ghulam's shooting was in Andheri Sports Complex,
08:25...and Dastak's shooting was in Natraj.
08:28So I got a call from the production people,
08:30...and they said, you're coming to Andheri Sports Complex, right?
08:34I was shocked.
08:36I said, Andheri Sports Complex? How?
08:38I'm going to Natraj.
08:41So that poor guy was also worried.
08:43He didn't understand what I was saying.
08:45So he also hung up.
08:48Then Mukesh ji called.
08:49Mukesh ji said, you want to direct Ghulam?
08:53So I thought, perhaps Bhat Saab is busy today.
08:56So Mukesh ji said, is there any shooting today?
08:58Can you do it?
08:59I said, yes, yes, I'll do it. What's the scene?
09:02He said, no, no, I'm not saying it like that.
09:04Do you want to direct Ghulam, the movie, the film, the director?
09:08It's Aamir Khan's film, who's going to say no?
09:10I said, yes, of course.
09:12Then I went to meet Bhat Saab.
09:14Bhat Saab told me that last night there was a meeting,
09:16...and such and such things happened.
09:20Actually, it's a very strange thing, Ghulam.
09:22Because when I was making Jaanam,
09:26...then Aamir and I were going to make a film for a special film.
09:31And Jaanam didn't work.
09:33And I lost some confidence in the market.
09:37So Bhat Saab came to the project.
09:40And then Bhat Saab and Aamir worked on a lot of scripts.
09:44And ultimately worked on Ghulam's script.
09:47And Ghulam's script was made.
09:50And I don't know if I should call it a coincidence or fate,
09:53...it came back to me.
09:56It's a strange thing,
09:58...that the script that I had started with the project,
10:01...it came back to me, many years later.
10:05Maybe it was written in my fate.
10:08And you know the story of Ghulam.
10:13Aamir and Rani,
10:15...we all made a film together.
10:18And after that,
10:20...there was no looking back.
10:22Ghulam, the train scene,
10:25...how did you plan its shooting?
10:29Actually, that scene was already in the script.
10:33And since the script was made,
10:36...there was a lot of discussion,
10:39...about when and how to shoot that scene.
10:42But it was a very difficult scene,
10:44...so we pushed that scene somehow.
10:48Then we couldn't find a location,
10:50...to shoot that scene.
10:53So ultimately, Sanpada railway shed,
10:56...we got permission there.
10:59It was very difficult to shoot that scene.
11:02Because,
11:04...we were shooting in a yard area,
11:07...so we couldn't drive the train fast.
11:11The demand for the sequence was,
11:13...to drive the train fast.
11:15Otherwise, what's the point?
11:17So we had to use some special effects,
11:19...to make the train faster.
11:21When we were shooting,
11:23...one side was a clear railway track,
11:26...but on the other side,
11:28...there was a big shed,
11:30...so we used a trick kind of shooting.
11:33The direction Aamir was running,
11:35...and the direction the train was coming,
11:37...were on the same side.
11:39We didn't shoot on the other side.
11:41We shot on the same side,
11:43...and till today, no one knows,
11:45...that it's actually only one side,
11:47...that we are shooting.
11:49It's one side of the railway track,
11:51...the camera is a little behind,
11:53...the train is a little ahead,
11:55...Aamir is coming,
11:57...so we shot on the same side.
11:59We shot Aamir,
12:01...missing the train,
12:03...by one second.
12:05I kept telling Aamir,
12:07...actually what happened was,
12:09...at that time,
12:11...people didn't trust the special effects.
12:13And Aamir was saying,
12:15...that he would jump,
12:17...at the last minute.
12:19I was very scared.
12:21I told him,
12:23...that he shouldn't do it.
12:25The action master was also advising,
12:27...Aamir said, let's do one thing.
12:29First you bring the train at 10km per hour.
12:31Aamir brought it at 10km,
12:33...jumped it.
12:35He asked for 20km speed.
12:37He came at 20km,
12:39...Aamir jumped it.
12:41He said, bring it at 30km.
12:43He brought it at 30km,
12:45...he jumped it.
12:47He said, it's okay, I can do it at 30km.
12:49Now, the thing is,
12:51...that train,
12:53...doesn't have an exact speedometer.
12:55It's not an exact speedometer, it's in our car, it can be 30-35 or even 25.
13:02So, when we were taking the shot, the train came at a speed of 45 kmph.
13:07No one knew, and Aamir's judgement was at a speed of 30 kmph.
13:11So, he jumped and the train left.
13:14So, he missed the train by 1 second.
13:17And we got to know this 1 second while we were editing.
13:20So, Aamir runs and there's a lamp post there.
13:25The light from here has Aamir's shadow on it.
13:28Aamir's shadow comes out and the train's shadow comes there.
13:32And there's an exact difference of 24 frames between the two shadows.
13:36And when we...
13:38I gave Aamir the clipping, he's got it at home.
13:42He's kept it for... He said, I want to keep it for all my life.
13:45That shot in which you can see the shadows.
13:49So, by 1 second, he missed the train.
13:50After that, we said, it's not possible, my heart is broken.
13:55We said, this is not the way to shoot.
13:59Then we called the special effects team.
14:02And took the remaining 2 shots from the special effects team.
14:06How much did you benefit after Ghulam's release?
14:09No, it's not like that, but...
14:11I feel that...
14:14After Ghulam, whatever films started coming to me...
14:17Whatever work I started doing...
14:20I felt that...
14:22As a director, my growth was getting curtailed.
14:26Because whenever I talk about a different script, people say, it's going to be an experiment.
14:30What is it? No one will do it in a budget.
14:32What is it? No star will do this role.
14:35So, I started feeling very suffocated.
14:39That I don't want to make all these subjects.
14:44I killed a normal father, my sister was raped.
14:48I don't want to make a film like that.
14:51I want to make films like Kasur and Raaz.
14:55I am not saying that I don't want to make films like that, but I want to make films like that.
14:58So, I didn't have any other option.
15:01Because when you want to make a different film, you have to reduce the risk factor.
15:06Reducing the risk factor means reducing the budget.
15:09Reducing the budget means hiring new people.
15:12Otherwise, if you hire a star, then it will be the same.
15:14If you hire a star, then the budget will increase.
15:16If the budget increases, then the risk will increase.
15:17If the risk increases, then you will say, take the same story.
15:19It's very risky.
15:20It's a catch-22 situation.
15:25But I am seeing that the times are changing.
15:30It wasn't like this during Kasur, but nowadays, stars want to hear new scripts.
15:34Nowadays, they want to hear stories from different films.
15:41They are not hesitating to take a negative role.
15:43They used to hesitate.