Upset Ajit scolded son Shehzad Khan for mimicking him in Andaz Apna Apna: ‘Aainda aisi himakat mat karna’

Shehzad Khan based his Andaz Apna Apna character's voice and mannerisms on father and industry legend Ajit.

When it was released in 1994, Andaz Apna Apna was a box office bomb. The Rajkumar Santoshi film starred Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, but could not utilise their star power at the box office. Since then, however, it has emerged as a cult classic with even the supporting characters becoming memorable. One such character is Bhalla, played by Shehzad Khan, the son of legendary villain Ajit. But Ajit was not pleased with his son's breakthrough role.

Shehzad Khan on copying dad Ajit

Shehzad Khan, the son of Ajit, played a memorable supporting role in Andaz Apna Apna.

Shehzad's Bhalla was the henchman of the film's villain, Teja (Paresh Rawal). Everything from Bhalla's getup to accent was an homage to Ajit's iconic character, Lion, from the film Kaalicharan. Shehzad even copied his father's iconic voice for the role. “The entire casting of the film was done by Rajkumar Santoshi. Only for this character, Vinay Kumar (producer of the film) said that ‘this role will be done by Shehzad.’ When I went there, Raj told me about the role and told me that I had to use my father’s voice for the character, and that’s how the journey started,” Shehzad told Radio Nasha.

However, Ajit did not take kindly to it. After watching the film, he was upset at the mimicry, Shehzad said. “I never told my father about the film, and some people told him, ‘Your son’s new film has come out. A lot of people are talking about it. He has used your voice.’ Then he saw the film and told me, ‘Aainda aisi himakat mat karna (Don’t ever repeat this),'” the actor said.

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