Boney Kapoor On Remaking ‘Woh 7 Din’ Today: ‘I Would Cast Janhvi, Sidharth Malhotra And Ranbir Kapoor’ (EXCLUSIVE)

In what has been a storied career as a producer, Boney Kapoor has never shied from taking risks. And he did that early on in his career. After a massive hit in 1980’s “Hum Paanch,” he launched his brother Anil Kapoor with his second production, 1983’s “Woh 7 Din,” which went on to become an even bigger hit. With the film turning 43 this year, Boney Kapoor takes Variety India back to the stories behind the names that made the film what it was – both on screen and off it. 

Excerpts…

‘Woh 7 Din’ turned your fortunes completely. How  did the director Bapu and  you come together?

After “Hum Paanch,” we struck a good bond. I used to visit Chennai often because I wanted to make my next film with him. During discussions, we struck on an idea to make a love story. It didn’t get to scripting even after working on it for a couple of months. We worked hard on it, but it didn't really excite us., Bapu was then offered a Telugu production, the remake of the 1981 Tamil film “Andha 7 Naatkal” directed by the late K. Bhagyaraj. He invited me to accompany him to see some of the reels. There was still some work left to be done. At the time, there was no intention to remake the film in Hindi. After watching the film, I told Bapu he had to make it in Telugu, so he started working on it. I couldn’t get over the film. I wanted to buy the rights for a Hindi version, but Bhagyaraj wasn’t keen on giving it up, because his “Ek Hi Bhool” with Jeetendra and Rekha had just become a big hit and he was probably awaiting better prospects. In the end, though, I convinced him to let me remake “Andha 7 Naatkal” in Hindi.

Related Stories

Ram Charan And Janhvi Kapoor On Sharing The Screen in ‘Peddi’: “It Honors Our Parents’ Legacy”

From ‘Devara’ to ‘Peddi’: Why Are South Directors Hyper-Sexualizing Janhvi Kapoor, Ask Audiences

What was it like working with Bapu, first for ‘Hum Paanch’ and later, for ‘Woh 7 Din’?

He was a genius. Bapu inspired Bharathi Raja, who just passed away. Also Mani Ratnam. They all belonged to Bapu's school of thought: framing, compositions, the inherent simplicity, no  makeup, everything left it as realistic as possible. In fact, Satyajit Ray was a fan of his. Bapu had made the film “Seetha Kalyanam” in 1976 for ₹13 lakh. It starred Jaya Prada. I think it is after this that Satyajit Ray had said that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Ray was enamored by that film. Mrinal Sen was a very big fan, too. 

Was ‘Woh 7 Din’ an expensive film to make?

It was not. In fact, thanks to the film, I made enough of a profit. There was buzz around the film and the margins were there as well. And those days, we spent more money than we could afford. We spent close to ₹10 lakh on promotions.

You spent a lot of money promoting the film.

I had hoardings put up in Mumbai. Some hoardings were put up by distributors because of what the film could afford. We had put up 20-25 hoardings before the Delhi release. And we had booked every newspaper front page for a quarter page ad for seven days.

Was Padmini Kolhapure your first choice for the female lead?

She was an upcoming actor when we first approached her, but we soon got wind that Raj Kapoor was going to sign her for “Prem Rog.” So, I went and signed her. At that time, she was doing a film for Mohan Kumar, Nasir Hussain and Raj Kapoor. She was quite in demand, I remember. Somehow, we managed to sign her. Also, she was excited by the subject. And if you see “Woh 7 Din,” she looked very pretty.

What about Naseeruddin Shah?

Initially, he didn't want to do the film. It took a while for me to chase him and pin him down. I asked him why he didn’t want to do it,  He said, ‘I don't want to get stuck in this bade bhai (big brother) stereotype.’ On the day he was supposed to let me know his decision, I landed up at his house. He was sitting at a writing desk, writing to me why he wouldn’t do the film. I said, ‘Nothing doing, Naseer, you can't escape this.’ Also, those days buying a Fiat car was impossible and he wanted to gift Ratna one. I helped him get that.

Any more fond memories of ‘Woh 7 Din’?

K. Bhagyaraj, the film’s original actor and director, told me, “I could not have done what Anil has done.” We shared a bond since then. Bapu and I made “Mohabbat,” which was a remake of Bhagyaraj’s “Thooral Ninnu Pochchu.” “Beta,” too, was a remake of Bhagyaraj’s “Enga Chinna Rasa.”

If you remade ‘Woh 7 Din’ today, who would  you cast?

Janhvi could do Padmini's role. For Naseer, someone like Sidharth Malhotra. And for Anil's role, Ranbir Kapoor.

You’ve had quite a career as a producer.

I have been around for 54 years. I started working at the age of 16-17. First as an assistant editor, then an assistant director, then an assistant producer, then a producer. I think it has been quite a journey.