At his peak in the 1990s and early 2000s, Govinda wasn’t just delivering hit after hit — he was giving Hindi cinema some of the most memorable buddy comedies it has seen till date. At one point, Govinda and Kader Khan were inseparable, starring together in multiple hits like Aankhen, Coolie No. 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Hero No. 1, Dulhe Raja and more. However, his films with Sanjay Dutt — Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Jodi No. 1 and Ek Aur Ek Gyarah — continue to make fans laugh and offer the warm comfort of watching a friendship unfold on the big screen.
While Govinda’s crackling chemistry with his co-stars kept audiences laughing, behind the scenes there were chaotic shoot schedules, explosive tempers, delays and moments of kindness — dramatic enough to be a movie in themselves. On Govinda’s birthday, let’s take a look at some of the most memorable behind-the-scenes instances.
Govinda and Sanjay Dutt starred in three films together. While they came across as best buddies on screen, their off-screen relationship was often strained by professional issues, especially Govinda’s tardiness. Recently, in a chat with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, actor Rajat Bedi, who worked with them on Jodi No. 1, recalled how Sanjay lost his temper after Govinda arrived 9 hours late to the shoot.
“He had taken on too much work. In Jodi No. 1, David was supposed to start shooting at 7 am but Sanjay Dutt and I were there at 6 in the morning for some reason,” Rajat recalled.
Rajat shared that hours went by but Govinda did not turn up on set and David Dhawan sent someone to his house to bring him to the set. However, they soon realised that Govinda was not even at home. By then, the team had already waited for eight hours and Sanjay was starting to lose his cool. “By the time it was 2 pm, Sanjay was freaking out,” he said, mimicking Sanjay abusing Govinda.
Rajat further revealed that Govinda had another commitment in Hyderabad and was flying directly to the set, arriving only at 3 pm after keeping everyone waiting for 9 hours. “In those days, nobody would know where he was because at that time, he would do 4-5 shifts,” he recalled.
After Govinda arrived, Sanjay Dutt was given his dialogues, which were far more than Govinda’s. This further angered the actor, who demanded changes on the spot. “Sanju started abusing the assistant and told him, you give these lines to Govinda, I will not do this. So the whole scene changed on the spot,” Rajat shared.
Sanjay Dutt and Govinda in a still from Haseena Maan Jaayegi.
Earlier, while speaking to Mukesh Khanna on his YouTube channel, Govinda recalled shooting a film with Kader Khan, who was also directing the project. While Govinda has often been called out by producers for arriving late on set, in this particular case, the actor said he reached the location at 7 am in the morning. However, he was made to wait for four hours, with the shoot only getting ready around noon.
Govinda refused to shoot at that time and told Kader Khan that he would have lunch before starting work. This irked Kader Khan and resulted in a heated altercation between the two.
Recalling the incident, Govinda said, “Kader Khan told me, ‘I’ve heard a lot that you’re being difficult these days. Are you afraid of anyone or not?’ ‘I am not afraid of anyone, except God,’ I said. ‘Come on, give the shot,’ he said. I said, ‘No sir, please wait for a while, then we’ll do it.’).”
Govinda recalled how Kader Khan abused him after he insisted on having lunch first. “He abused me a lot. He would not usually do this. He loved me a lot. He has done a lot for me.” The Hero No. 1 actor added that Kader Khan went ahead with the shoot without him. However, the shot could never be canned as the boats they were filming on drowned — along with the camera and Kader Khan himself, who went missing for a while. Later, Govinda recalled that when Kader returned, he kissed Govinda’s hand and told him, ‘Tum mein baat hai. (You have something in you).’
Kader Khan and Govinda in Dulhe Raja.
Govinda was infamous for arriving late on set, while the industry was well aware of Amitabh Bachchan’s legendary punctuality. When the two starkly different personalities came together for the 1998 film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Govinda admitted he was nervous.
In an old interaction with Aaj Tak, Govinda revealed that he was “scared” to work with the senior actor and was honest about his situation from the very beginning. Govinda told Bachchan that he had signed too many projects and could not guarantee punctuality. He also expressed surprise that Bachchan agreed to do the film with him, as many senior actors had refused.
“When I started the film, I spoke to Mr Amitabh Bachchan and said ‘Sir, I have signed too many films, senior actors often don’t work with me. How are you here? When he joined, I was scared because he is such a veteran. People were also scaring me that he always comes on time. I said I can’t (come on time) because I am tied up in so many movies.”
However, Bachchan handled the situation with professionalism, working out a system with Govinda. The actor recalled, “Mr Bachchan said, ‘You call me and let me know what time are you coming. I don’t have a problem and it is not my concern if anyone has a problem with your timings’. After this conversation, I signed that film.”
That wasn’t all. Bachchan would even pick Govinda up from his bungalow to ensure the shoot wasn’t delayed. In an interview with Filmymantra Media, actor Vijay Patkar recalled, “Amitabh used to go in his car and honk for him to come along to the shoot. He would bring him to set in his car. That’s why Bachchan ji is still working. If you want to throw tantrums, first reach that level.”
Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
The 2007 film Partner marked Govinda’s comeback to Bollywood and saw him revisiting the buddy comedy genre, this time with Salman Khan. While Amitabh Bachchan had once made Govinda nervous, during Partner, it was Salman who admitted to being scared to share screen space with Govinda.
Known for his impeccable comic timing and effortless dancing, Govinda made Salman apprehensive about matching his energy. Speaking about it in a throwback video, Salman said, “I felt scared to work with Govinda. Think of it, how much comedy can a person do in a film? So for the first 17 years of my life, I was very scared to share screen space with Govinda.”
Salman added that he couldn’t compete with Govinda’s onscreen presence. “If two actors of the same level are working together, there’s a lot of healthy competition between them. But (here) the difference is this much (Salman-Govinda) in terms of performance, dancing and comedy level, and this whole film is about dancing and comedy.”
Salman Khan and Govinda in Partner.
In another chat on The Music Podcast, music composer Sajid Khan revealed how Salman put in extra effort during the shoot and would rehearse his dance moves repeatedly. “Even though Salman bhai usually doesn’t do that much, he would just move on the beat but because Govinda was there, he practiced too much,” he said.