This producer rubbishes Govinda's claims of being offered James Cameron's 'Avatar', says 'A tragedy happened, this disc of his brain...'

Filmmaker and former CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani and Govinda have had quite a few successes together, barring their turd called Rangeela Raja, the ghastly affair that scarred the actor’s fans back in 2019. The star’s claims of being offered the Hollywood juggernaut Avatar by James Cameron are yet to be digested, but Nihalani has a take on it.

In a recent interview with Friday Talkies, the producer said, “I had made a film called Avatar with him. I had filmed 40 minutes of it, which I consider one of my best films, but it got canned. Due to the same title I don’t know what went wrong in his mind and he kept claiming that he was doing Hollywood’s Avatar. The disc of his brain spinned over and he went from Hindi to English.”

He added, “He (Govinda) said he was offered that Avatar and forgot that it was actually Pahlaj Nihalani’s Avatar. So that was the big tragedy that happened. He said let’s put this on hold, do something else. We tried to make the film in one schedule but last minute I don’t know what almonds he ate with tea that he started fainting and us din ke baad se uska dimaag theek nahi raha. He started talking nonsense and the schedule kept getting pushed. Some songs were remaining and some portions of the climax, but he didn’t shoot at all. Shot would be ready, he would wake up, but then he is fainting.”

Post the millennium, Govinda has had umpteen comebacks but barring Bhagam Bhag and Partner, none of his choices have worked and the success he has been craving for still continues to elude him. Titles like Aa Gaya Hero, Fryday, and Rangeela Raja have further dented his already diminishing clout. His claims of rejecting hits like Gadar, Taal, and Devdas for various reasons are also known to all.