Before he became Bollywood’s go-to man for dark twists and moral puzzles, Sujoy Ghosh was trying to make people laugh. Long before thrillers defined his career, he was navigating awkward marriages, office
stress and adult humour in what would become his debut film, Jhankar Beats. And as it turns out, the film almost lost its biggest star. In an exclusive chat with SCREEN, Ghosh opened up about a moment that could have changed the fate of the 2003 cult favourite. Juhi Chawla, who eventually played Shanti, had initially refused the project after reading the script. “She read the script, she was shocked. She said, ‘I’m not doing this.’” The reason was a scene that leaned heavily into adult humour. Ghosh described it in detail while recalling that phase of casting uncertainty. “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 condom, 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.” The scene was dropped. The film moved ahead. And Ghosh admits that decision may have saved it. “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, which also starred Sanjay Suri and Rahul Bose with music by Vishal-Shekhar, went on to become a talking point for its wit and urban tone. Recently, the film was screened at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda festival, where Ghosh, Suri and Shayan Munshi were present.
