Ramesh Talwar’s first brush with the Chopras was as a child artiste. He played the role of a school bully in Dhool Ka Phool (1959), a BR C...
Ramesh Talwar’s first brush with the Chopras was as a child artiste. He played the role of a school bully in Dhool Ka Phool (1959), a BR Chopra production that marked brother Yash’s directorial debut. It was a minuscule role and Talwar doesn’t remember much of that episode. What he recalls more vividly from those years are his experiences on the stage, especially alongside the legendary Balraj Sahni. As to how he got involved with theatre in the first place, he says it was his uncle, the writer Sagar Sarhadi, who encouraged him.
It was almost a decade later when their paths again crossed. This happened when the brothers turned up to watch the Punjabi play Shatranj De Mohre (an adaptation of a play by the noted Marathi playwright and satirist, PL Deshpande). Apart from Talwar, the play featured the well-known character actor Manmohan Krishna, who had had a prominent part in Dhool Ka Phool and was very close to the Chopras.
Not long after, the twenty-something Talwar came across an article where BR Chopra spoke of his plans for a suspense film which he intended to complete in a month’s time. Accompanied by Krishna, Talwar landed up at Chopra’s office and asked if he could be a part of this film as his...
