Before Sujoy Ghosh became known for his dark and twisty stories, he was actually trying to make people laugh. Before thrillers made him famous, he explored humorous takes on marriage, work stress, and adult humor in his first film, Jhankar Beats. But interestingly, the film almost lost its main star before it was made.
Juhi Chawla initially refused ‘Jhankar Beats’
Speaking to SCREEN, Sujoy recalled a turning point that could have changed everything for the 2003 cult hit. Juhi Chawla, who went on to play Shanti, wasn’t on board at first. After reading the script, she was taken aback. “She read the script, she was shocked. She said, ‘I’m not doing this.’”
Juhi Chawla objected to a bold scene
The problem was a scene that had a lot of adult humour. Ghosh shared the full story while talking about that period of casting doubts. He stated, “So there was this scene where Deep (Sanjay Suri) is not having a good day. Lots of tension at the office, and he’s unable to crack the advertisement they are working on. His mother-in-law is also staying with him, and the new baby is on the way. He has a dream that Shanti (Juhi Chawla) has delivered, and the baby has arrived. But when he picks up the baby, the baby has the face of his mother-in-law. And suddenly, he realizes there’s something very bright behind him. He turns, and he sees this giant fluorescent contraceptive, dancing, telling him, ‘Had you used me? Aaj yeh din dekhna nahi padta.’ (You shouldn’t have to see this day). So Juhi said, ‘If this scene is there, I’m not there.’ So we removed the scene.”
Juhi Chawla helped save the film
The scene was eventually dropped, and the film went on as planned. Ghosh admits that this choice might have actually saved the project. He shared, “Juhi was probably the saviour of the film. She was the star we needed to make the film happen. Without her, we wouldn’t have got the film. And without Shanti, her character, I would have never made the film. Because Shanti was, again, you know, my early Vidya Bagchi (referring to the character of Vidya Balan from Kahaani).“
‘Jhankar Beats’ continues to charm audiences
‘Jhankar Beats’, featuring Sanjay Suri and Rahul Bose with music by Vishal-Shekhar, became widely talked about for its clever humour and modern vibe. Recently, the film was showcased at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival, attended by Ghosh, Suri, and Shayan Munshi.