Govinda and David Dhawan ruled the box office in the ’90s with over 15 back-to-back hits, but the actor doesn’t seem interested in working with the filmmaker again.
Dhawan made his directorial debut in 1989 with Taaqatwar starring Govinda. The director-actor duo went on to give blockbusters like Shola Aur Shabnam, Saajan Chale Sasural, Hero No 1, Coolie No 1, Dulhe Raja and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Partner, which released in 2007, was their last film together.
In an interview with India TV, Govinda appeared to take a dig at Dhawan when asked about the reports of the actor not having a good relationship with the Judwaa 2 director. “He can ask me this question only when his son (Varun Dhawan) makes 17 films with him,” Govinda said referring to the reports.
“I do not think his son will ever do 17 films with him, because he is, after all, David Dhawan’s son. He is educated. I never realised the meaning of doing 17 films with a director. It was Sanjay Dutt who told me to give work to a fellow Punjabi (David Dhawan). I used to give work to fellow Punjabis at that time. I liked David and did many hit films with him. I did not even treat my relatives as well as I treated him. Even with my brother, who is a director, I did not do 17 films.”
The actor further said he had approached Dhawan for a project but was “hurt” by his negative response.
“After I left politics, I told my secretary to keep the phone speaker on, so that I could listen to what he (David Dhawan) was saying. I heard David saying, ‘Chi-Chi (Govinda’s nickname) is questioning a lot.’ He was telling my secretary, ‘I do not want to work with Govinda anymore. Tell him to do some small bit roles.’ This shocked me and I decided never to work with him. After 4-5 months, I again rang him up just to find out if he would give me a guest appearance in his film. He then never rang me back. I am revealing this in public after so many years. I think he is under somebody’s influence. I do not think he is that same David Dhawan who I used to know,” said the actor.