"Once in my make-up chair, food was out. The first hour and a half, I could not move even a centimetre. For the next couple of hours, as the make-up artiste worked on me, I could listen to music or watch the TV, but talking was a no-no. Thereafter, I sipped liquids from a straw till it was removed at the end of the day."

Another revelation: Having played the typical Laurel all through his career, this is the first time he has played an Oliver Hardy. "Woh Saat Din gave me that image at a time when heroes were supposed to be toughies, wearing bomber jackets and jeans, trendy shades and singing songs on mobikes," he narrates.

"My director, Bapu spoke of Buster Keaton, Laurel and Charlie Chaplin to me. He could see these guys in my face while conceiving the character of Prem Patialawala in Woh Saat Din. I had imagined myself as a rebel hero, a brat. Prem was anything but one. I didn’t know I had this kind of innocence."

It was this childish innocence that landed him Karma with Subhash Ghai. "Then came Andar Bahar, which also caters to children," recalls Anil. "Javed Akhtar noticed this quality of Chaplin, Laurel and Raj Kapoor and rewrote Mr India for me. The film was originally written with Amitabh Bachchan in mind but the script was changed to suit my image. Today, Badhaai Ho Badhaai is replaying the same image."

The title of the film came as a flash while Anil was on a long-distance flight. "I liked the celebratory ring about it," he points out. "It is a happy title and apt for the film as this guy spreads happiness around. After all, celebrations like birthday, Holi, Divali...are important in life as they contribute to our growth. Sadly, kids of this generation are out of touch with such happiness. I feel so bad for my children."

Anil informs that he had been asked to suggest some titles for a week-long retrospective in his honour in the UK and he had recommended only "those films that stand apart for their raw innocence and honesty". They include Woh Saat Din, Eeshwar, Viraasat, Mr India, Lamhe and Pukar.

"Of the new lot, there’s Badhaai Ho Badhaai and Om Jai Jagdish," he adds. "They obviously expected me to suggest Tezaab, Taal, Beta and Biwi No 1 also, but I refused. These films were no doubt big hits and can be counted as milestones in my career, but they are no match to what I consider were films about honesty, honestly made."

Apart from Om Jai Jagdish, Anil will soon be seen in Indra Kumar’s Rishte and Sudhir Mishra’s Wapsi. MF