The well-known Bollywood producer Abdul Gaffar Nadiadwala aka AG Nadiadwala, or Welcome and Hera Pheric fame, passed away early morning on August 22, 2022. He was 91 years old and died due to cardiac arrest while being treated at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.
EXCLUSIVE: “I wouldn’t name them, but some of the most prominent actors today brought their properties with them thanks to the money my father gave” – Firoz Nadiadwala
AG Nadiadwala was known for his generosity and was fondly referred to as ‘Seth ji’. His producer son Firoz Nadiadwala spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about this aspect and much more.
It is said that your father was called up to several movie mahurats…
By God’s grace, he was seen as a person whose blessings were needed. To this day it is said that there was only one Seth ji in the film industry and that was my father. In other words, ‘Seth ji’ was synonymous with my father. If someone is told, ‘3’ jail seth ji ke office my aa jaana’, then he or she will automatically know where to go at 3 p.m. After all, there was no second Seth ji.
Why was he called ‘Seth ji’?
He was so called, not only because of his monetary strength, but also out of affection and love, and the way he trusted and assisted people. For example, if he owes you money and should pay you two months later, he will call you and say ‘Tera paisa dena hai‘. You would of course reply’Lekin uske liye toh do mahina baaki hai‘. He will answer,’Pata hai lekin tum abhi aa ke le jaao‘! He was very generous with everyone who worked with him, be it actors, directors or technicians.
Suppose someone from his team wants to buy a flat worth Rs. 10 lakhs. My father is him Rs. 5 lakhs from which he paid him Rs. 3 lakhs and the balance of Rs. After a few months, 2 lakhs have to be paid. He will immediately call that person and immediately charge him Rs. 2 lakhs. Then my father would ask him’baaki ke Arrange €5 lakhs ho gaye?’. If he answered no, my father would call the accountant and charge him Rs. 5 lakhs. He will tell him’Aage kahin adjusts cart length. Aur mujhe batana jab ghar kharidoge‘. Besides, he wouldn’t even record anything in his diaries or in any way about such transactions.
Did he even sign lead actors for three movies together?
Yes, and he even prepays them for 3 movies at once!
What was the thought behind this gesture?
Trust, love and respect. You won’t believe it, he would even give work to those who are not even signed by him. Sometimes prominent executives showed up at my father’s office and said they needed money urgently. They would say to my father, ‘Lekin aapne mujhe sign nahi kiya‘. My father would answer: ‘Woh baad mein dekh lenge. Cash log ya to check?’ Depending on what the director would choose, my father would hand it over to him!
That’s quite a generous and amazing quality of his…
Uss waqt log bhi waise the. Now that is no longer the case. I wouldn’t name them, but some of today’s most prominent actors have brought their properties with them thanks to the money my father gave.
Can you tell us about the respect your father demands in the industry?
Superstars of the time made time to meet my father. They would never expect or hope for him to come to their house, especially not for work. Itni izzat dete the unko. They would say ‘Hum aayenge aapko milne. Kaam ke liye monkey hamare yahan nahi aa sakte‘. Top actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Shammi Kapoor and top filmmakers like Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Yash Chopra etc worked with us and they all had a lot of love and respect for my father and vice versa.
Once, me and my father went to meet a prominent actor. He had made a movie with us and our next movie with him was due to start in a few months. We wanted to sign him and give him his fee for the second film. I had the briefcase with the money in my hand. My father asked that actor a lot that he wanted to be paid for the upcoming movie. That actor was shy and he said, “Jaisa monkey tea samjhe, Seth ji’. My father insisted, ‘Nahi, monkey bataiye aapko kitna chahiye‘. The actor replied again: “Nahi, monkey jaisa theek samjhe‘.
Believe it or not, this took almost 15-20 minutes! I got so restless. Then my father said to him, ‘If you don’t tell me your fee, I won’t go through with the shoot’. That actor was paid Rs. 6 lakhs for the previous movie and my dad insisted he charge more for the next one. Finally, that actor said, “Aapne pichle movie ke liye 6 lakh do the. Iss bar 11 dijiye‘!
I got the fright of my life! From Rs. 6 lakhs, he increased his fees to Rs. 11 lakhs? But my father was nonchalant. He told me, ‘Income briefcase my se €11 lakhs the do‘. I Agreed. Suddenly that actor said, ‘Seth ji, I didn’t ask for Rs. 11 lakhs. I meant you would pay me Rs. 6 lakhs and 11 thousand’! My father asked him, ‘Are you sure you don’t want Rs? 11 lakhs?’ That actor replied, “Yeah, I’m sure. Since you insisted that I ask for more, I am therefore asking for an increase of 11 thousand rupees’.
Those were different days. In the old days, people understood the idea of commitment. They used to understand value, now they understand price!
Also Read: MEGA EXCLUSIVE: Firoz Nadiadwala is producing a 5D movie about Mahabharat at a cost of Rs. 700 crores; Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh are up for the lead roles
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