Down memory lane with screen baddie Ranjeet
As Bollywood mourns the disappearance of hardcore anti-heroes from the screen, baddie supreme Ranjeet defends his reputation as the filmdom's ratified rapist over four decades now
Ranjeet's bungalow is a landmark in the posh Juhu neighbourhood in Mumbai. Tastefully done up interiors with a Mediterranean touch lead up to the terrace garden with a cobbled pathway and a swimming pool and jacuzzi on the other side. There's a dart board with a scoreboard in another corner. This could well be a scene from one of those masala films in which he used to act. Just then his man Friday ushers you to the office-cum-bedroom where from across a wide table, the man, dressed in chequered night-suit, offers a warm hand shake.
Welcome to Ranjeet's den! ''I don't smoke, I drink only socially, I am a vegetarian and I never watch any films,'' he dicloses by way of introduction. In his signature style, his shirt is unbuttoned till the waist and the naughty smile is firmly in place. However, the affluent surroundings of the filmi villain reflect investment savvy and the steady life he leads in real life in a stark contrast to his rakish reel life.
No
dates,
no
rates
He
begins
by
paying
a
tribute
to
his
dear
departed
friend
Prakash
Mehra,
who
cast
him
in
every
film
of
his
since
Haath
Ki
Safai.
''He
never
discussed
dates
or
rates
with
me
-
he
would
just
go
ahead
and
announce
my
name
in
his
films,''
Ranjeet
recalls.
Mehra's
was
the
only
film
office
other
than
Sunil
Dutt's
that
Ranjeet
visited.
''He
never
lost
his
temper.
He
was
a
cool-headed
man.
He
was
a
simple,
emotional
and
passionate
filmmaker.
He
wasn't
an
opportunist
at
all,''
he
asserts.
''We
were
close
friends
and
discussed
everything
from
films
to
our
affairs.
But
he
never
exploited
his
heroines,''
he
adds.
Mehra,
he
admits,
offered
him
the
best
of
roles
in
films
like
Namak
Halaal,
Sharaabi
and
Laawaris.
Those
were
the
days
when
a
film
was
known
by
its
director,
like
Manmohan
Desai's
Amar
Akbar
Anthony
or
Prakash
Mehra's
Zanjeer.
There
was
a
great
rivalry
between
the
two
filmmakers
since
both
made
films
essentially
with
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
lead.
''A
misunderstanding
between
the
maker
and
muse
led
to
his
downfall.
Mehra
launched
Ghungroo
thinking
he
would
create
another
star
out
of
a
new
tall
hero
-
Kunal
Goswami.
He
also
presented
Chameli
Ki
Shaadi
without
his
pet
hero,''
he
shrugs,
as
he
analyses
the
downfall
of
the
great
filmmaker.
Air
Force's
loss
Born
in
Amritsar
as
Gopal
Bedi
and
better
known
as
Goli
in
film
circles,
Ranjeet
is
the
nom
de
screen
given
to
him
by
Sunil
Dutt
in
his
debut
venture
Reshma
Aur
Shera.
Eldest
of
a
brood
of
four
with
two
younger
brothers
and
a
sister,
Gopal
was
a
keen
sportsman.
He
enjoyed
a
good
game
of
soccer
any
time.
His
father,
Dwarakaprasad
Bedi,
had
a
factory
of
electrical
accessories
in
Delhi
and
was
rather
orthodox.
Young
Gopal
took
the
National
Defence
Academy
entrance
exam
''just
for
a
lark
with
a
bunch
of
friends.''
His
father
came
to
know
of
it
only
when
he
approached
him
for
the
official
consent
letter.
Gopal
was
training
as
an
Air
Force
cadet
when
he
got
romantically
involved
with
his
instructor's
daughter
-
and
as
a
result
he
was
sent
home
packing.
''Look
how
destiny
led
me
to
films,''
he
remarks.
Glorious
intro
to
star-matazz
Back
in
Delhi,
Gopal
re-joined
his
football
team
and
watched
Dev
Anand's
Guide
and
Hum
Dono
20
times
each
and
he
could
mimic
every
mannerism
and
line
from
the
two
films.
''I
was
such
a
great
fan
of
Dev
saab's,''
he
adds.
A
chance
meeting
at
a
party
with
a
UK-based
film
enthusiast
from
Kota's
royal
lineage,
Ranbir
(Ronny)
Singh
changed
the
course
of
Gopal's
life.
He
offered
the
5'11''
tall,
fiery
young
Gopal
the
lead
role
in
his
film
Zindagi
Ki
Rahen,
in
which
he
was
to
play
the
cleaner
boy
while
Jayant
was
to
play
the
truck
driver.
The
film
never
got
launched
but
it
sure
led
Gopal
to
Mumbai.
Ronny
Singh
invited
him
over
and
in
1968
he
flew
in
to
the
showbiz
capital.
''I
requested
my
father
to
let
me
visit
Mumbai
on
the
pretext
of
sightseeing,''
he
guffaws.
Since
Ronny
was
well-connected
in
the
industry,
Gopal
became
his
constant
companion,
consequently
spending
his
first
night
in
Mumbai
at
Chetan
Anand's
bungalow!
''Imagine,
Priya
Rajvansh
served
us
slivers
of
ripe
mangoes
after
dinner,''
he
relates.
The
second
night
he
was
dining
with
Sunil
Dutt
and
Nargis
and
the
third
night
was
spent
in
Raj
Kapoor's
company
where
he
showed
them
the
rough
cut
of
Mera
Naam
Joker.
''Such
was
my
glorious
introduction
to
Mumbai,
but
I
still
had
no
job
or
role,''
he
observes
candidly.
Beach-riding
with
Dutt
Although
Gopal
became
a
production
assistant
of
sorts
to
Ronny
and
started
living
at
his
hired
office
premises
in
Juhu,
Mumbai,
he
still
didn"t
have
any
work
to
do.
''I
would
run
on
the
beach
and
then
take
a
dip
in
the
sea.
I
would
play
badminton
with
Feroz
and
Sanjay
Khan
in
the
evenings,''
he
describes
his
daily
routine.
That's
when
he
noticed
Sunil
Dutt
riding
on
his
white
steed
every
morning
and
then
having
a
tender
coconut,
and
he
hung
around.
Dutt
recognised
him
as
Ronny's
pal
and
invited
him
to
join
in
for
a
ride.
''Then
on
we
raced,
rode
bareback
together
and
became
very
close,''
narrates
Ranjeet.
By
now
Ronny
had
fought
with
his
financiers
and
walked
away
in
a
huff.
Gopal
was
left
to
fend
for
himself
and
since
no
film
roles
were
forthcoming,
he
decided
to
call
it
quits
and
join
his
father's
business
partner
who
wanted
to
send
him
to
Germany
to
start
off
a
pharmaceutical
factory.
''And
that
very
day
I
got
a
call
from
Mohan
Segal
for
the
part
of
Rekha's
brother
in
Sawan
Bhadon,
I
went
to
meet
him
just
to
excuse
myself
from
the
film.
But
my
gut
feeling
urged
me
to
accept
the
role
and
bid
goodbye
to
Germany
instead!''
he
says.
Soon
Sunil
Dutt
summoned
him
for
a
role
in
Reshma
Aur
Shera.
First
take
with
Rekha
Dutt
made
him
change
his
name
to
Ranjeet
to
suit
the
rough-hewn
Rajput
character
he
was
to
play
in
the
film.
But
his
first
shot
was
not
for
Reshma
Aur
Shera,
but
for
Sawan
Bhadon.
''Mehboob
Studio
was
buzzing
with
activity
as
it
was
the
first
day
of
the
shoot.
I
was
dressed
in
pyjamas
with
dangling
drawstrings,
a
big
bamboo
in
one
hand
and
a
lauki
(white
gourd)
in
the
other.
I
had
the
entire
scene
by
heart,
I
knew
my
lines
as
well
as
Rekha's
and
Navin
Nischal's
and
director
Mohan
Segal
was
so
pleased
with
my
first
take
that
he
called
me
a
watermelon
-
baahar
kuch,
andar
kuch,''
he
reminisces,
happily.
Sawan
Bhadon
was
his
debut
venture
as
well
as
Rekha's.
The
two
struck
an
instant
rapport
and
even
now
when
they
meet,
Rekha
calls
him
Goli.
Lamenting
a
''rapist''
son
Soon
he
accompanied
Sunil
Dutt
and
his
retinue
to
the
deserts
of
Rajasthan
where
the
entire
cast
and
crew
was
put
up
in
tents
for
months.
Ranjeet
played
the
role
of
Reshma's
(Waheeda
Rehman)
brother
married
to
Raakhee
who
is
shot
down
by
Shera's
(Sunil
Dutt)
brother
Chhotu
(Amitabh)
in
a
family
feud.
''I
shared
a
tent
with
Amitabh,
Ali
Raza
and
Thapa,''
he
says.
This
lavishly-mounted
film
turned
out
to
be
a
box-office
dud
but
by
now
Raakhee
had
recommended
Ranjeet
for
the
role
of
a
molester
in
Sharmeelee.
''I
invited
my
entire
family
for
the
premiere
in
Delhi
and
when
they
saw
me
trying
to
rape
the
heroine,
they
walked
out
of
the
theatre
before
the
interval.
When
I
went
home
that
night,
I
faced
the
wrath
of
the
family.
'What
face
do
we
have
to
show
in
Amritsar?'
they
lamented,''
he
recalls,
with
a
laugh.
Sharmeelee
was
a
blockbuster
and
Ranjeet's
career
was
on
a
roll,
albeit
as
a
rapist!
Compulsory
blind
Nothing
succeeds
like
success
and
nothing
thrives
like
a
hit
stereotype
in
Bollywood.
So
rapist
Ranjeet
starred
in
several
baddie
avatars,
''From
a
rustic
dacoit,
urban
ruffian
to
a
malicious
cop
-
you
name
it
and
I
have
done
it,''
he
says.
Soon
Ranjeet
became
what
the
filmwallahs
call
''a
compulsory
blind''.
Producers
would
tell
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee
to
insert
a
nightmare
sequence
with
my
rape
scene,''
chortles
Ranjeet,
adding,
''I
laugh
it
off
when
people
call
me
filmdom's
ratified
rapist.
That
was
my
job.''
Hulchul, Dost Aur Dushman ('71) Raampur Ka Lakshman, Victoria No. 203 ('72), Jheel Ke Us Paar ('73), Khote Sikkay, Aap Ki Kasam, Haath Ki Safai ('74), Dharmatma ('75), Laila Majnu ('76), Amar Akbar Anthony ('77), Vishwanath (1978), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar ('78), Lahu Ke Do Rang, Kartavya, Suhaag ('79 ), Aap Ke Deewane ('80), Namak Halaal, Laawaris('82), Rocky and Hero('83), and Sharaabi, ('84) were some of his big hits through the '70s and '80s. ''I worked 5-6 shifts per day. I had become a workoholic,'' he surmises. He would dash from one set to the other and it showed in his work, ''I was shooting for two film simultaneously. In one I played a cop and in the other a dacoit. Both the characters had different moustaches, but in all that hurry I ended up shooting the climax scene of Bundalbaaz with the dacoit's mouche instead of the cop's one,'' he points out.
As for competition from other villains, he shrugs off the suggestion, ''No actor lives above the role and no role lives above the director. Why do you think people don't ever talk about any other film than Sholay about Amjad Khan?'' He adds that he had also been offered Gabbar's role after Danny Denzongpa, with whom he was also shooting in Afghanistan for Feroz Khan's Dharmatma. ''I had asked for Danny's 'no objection' certificate which they never got,'' he says.
Ranjeet's
'filmi'
club
For
the
longest
time,
Ranjeet
was
a
bachelor
known
for
his
spacious
bungalow
and
warm
hospitality.
But
naturally,
his
bachelor
pad
became
the
party
hub
for
Bollywood
denizens.
''I
would
call
it
Ranjeet's
club
-
Zeenat
Aman,
Parveen
Babi,
Neetu
Singh,
Rekha,
Moushumi
Chaterjee,
Reena
Roy,
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Shatrughan
Sinha,
Jeetendra,
Dharmendra,
Rishi
Kapoor,
Randhir
Kapoor,
Sanjeev
Kumar,
Vinod
Khanna
and
Vinod
Mehra
were
the
regulars
at
my
parties
then,''
he
enumerates.
Fond
of
good
living,
Ranjeet
was
the
first
actor
to
import
a
Volkswagon
camper
with
a
bed,
cooking
range
and
refrigerator.
Steadily,
he
was
turning
out
to
be
a
gypsy
of
sorts.
Production
and
sanyas
In
the
late
'80s,
Ranjeet
found
himself
trapped
in
the
monotony
of
work.
''I
got
so
busy
that
I
couldn't
go
and
receive
my
mother
at
the
airport
and
I
couldn't
even
attend
my
brother's
wedding,''
he
relates.
It
was
during
this
listless
period
that
Ranjeet
wrote
the
script
of
Kiske
Liye
which
his
well-wishers
forced
him
to
call
Kaarnaama
('90)
instead.
''They
felt
the
earlier
title
sounded
like
Gulzar's
film
and
did
not
go
with
my
action
image,''
he
says,
with
a
shrug.
He
also
made
Gajab
Tamasha('92)
thereafter
starring
Anu
Aggarwal
and
Rahul
Roy,
''But
I
failed
as
a
businessman,''
he
admits.
Disillusioned,
he
decided
to
call
it
a
day,
''I
had
80
films
on
the
floors
then,
which
I
completed,''
he
clarifies
emphatically.
Son-rise
Ranjeet
returned
to
acting
in
the
teleserial
Baat
Ban
Jaye
and
his
Colonel
Khanna
act
made
him
a
household
name.
He
also
was
seen
in
two
comic
plays
-
Hanky
Panky
and
Papa
Don't
Preach,
''Theatre
calls
for
plenty
of
improvisation,''
he
says.
Currently,
he's
busy
shooting
for
comedy
serial,
Jugni
Chali
Jallandhar
on
SAB
TV.
On the family front, Ranjeet is a happy man. Divyanka, his elder daughter, is a prize-winning fashion designer and son Chiranjeev is a keen Formula One race driver. ''He's still young but in the next two years he will certainly be in films. I have a script in mind for him,'' he informs. Wife Alokaa aka Naazneen pops in to check if all is going well and Ranjeet beams proudly saying, ''She's the manager of the house, we have done up the house together. We have come a long way from the early days of our marriage when her aunt would ask if I ill-treated her.''
It's showtime and the Bedis get ready for a photo-session. Ranjeet is in form, striking the right pose with his buttons undone right uptill the waist! Some things don't change.