Most people have godfathers before they enter the film industry. And some like myself find them on our journey in films. Arun Bhatt for me was that Godfather.

I had been acting on stage and then in films since 1965. But it was the film “Lohini Sagaai”, produced and directed by Arunbhai that made me who I am today. in 1979, when Arunbhai was in the process of making “Lohini Sagaai” with Rajeev and Snehlata, he wanted to cast a villain who had no previous baggage of past films. He chanced upon me and gave me a narration of the role. I was in a state of shock at first and couldn’t believe that Arunbhai was offering me such a layered character in his film. It was a role of a sly and vicious blackmailer who would be playing a young as well as an old man through the course of the film. How could I refuse this? I immediately said yes to him and from then onwards I never had to look back!

Prior to starting filming “Lohini Sagaai”, he asked me to think of what “new” I could bring into this character that blackmails people only till his monetary needs are satisfied. Arunbhai himself came up with the idea of making me wear a small bell (ghughri) around my neck and asked me make a clinking sound whenever I asked for money – indirectly symbolizing the clinking sound of coins. He extracted a very underplayed performance from me. Every scene of mine in the film was so menacing – without any shouting or screaming!

Then onwards, I always thought of some mannerism or characteristic for all the roles I played. The did many films under Arunbhai’s direction like “Hiro Ghoghe Jai Aavyo”, “Jugal Jodi”, “Pankhino Maalo”, “Shetal Tara Unda Paani” etc.

The fact that the people still love me as a villain after all these years, the credit for this goes to one man – Arun Bhatt. I really miss him.

Based on his interviews on Devang Bhatt’s show Atithi and Mission Manoranjan on Doordarshan Girnar