Mohnish
Bahl
made
his
acting
debut
in
Bollywood
with
Sanjay
Dutt's
1983
film
Bekaraar.
After
a
string
of
flop
films,
it
was
Salman
Khan-Bhagyashree's
film
Maine
Pyaar
Kiya
which
changed
things
around
for
him.
The
actor
essayed
the
role
of
the
main
antagonist,
Jeevan.
In
fact,
one
of
his
dialogues
from
Maine
Pyaar
Kiya,
"Ek
ladka
aur
ek
ladki
kabhi
dost
nahin
ho
sakte,"
became
highly
popular
after
the
film's
release.
In
a
recent
interview
with
ETimes,
Mohnish
Bahl
opened
up
about
how
he
bagged
Maine
Pyaar
Kiya,
and
how
it
turned
out
to
be
a
new
lease
of
life
for
his
Bollywood
career.
Speaking
about
how
he
thought
his
career
was
finished
after
delivering
six
flops
before
he
bagged
Maine
Pyaar
Kiya,
Mohnish
said,
"By
the
time
I
got
Maine
Pyar
Kiya,
not
only
had
I
started
my
career
but
also
ended
it.
I
thought
I
was
finished
after
six
flops
and
decided
to
become
a
pilot.
I
was
working
on
getting
a
commercial
flying
license
as
I
wanted
to
get
a
job
in
the
aviation
sector."
The
actor
revealed
that
it
was
Salman
Khan
who
recommmended
his
name
to
Sooraj
Barjatya
for
Maine
Pyaar
Kiya.
"Salman
Khan
and
I
bumped
into
each
other
quite
randomly
but
became
friends
almost
immediately.
He
was
trying
to
get
into
the
business
of
filmmaking
back
then.
When
'MPK'
came
his
way,
he
recommended
my
name
for
the
villain's
role.
He
asked
me
if
I'd
be
interested
in
doing
the
role,
and
I
agreed.
It
was
tricky
for
me
to
do
a
villain's
role
back
then
as
I
was
a
flop
hero.
But
any
inclination
that
I
had
to
play
a
hero
was
over
by
then.
So
I
took
it
on
but
had
never
expected
that
it
would
be
a
new
lease
of
life
for
my
career
and
make
me
viable
even
30
years
later.
I
don't
think
even
Salman
had
thought
about
it," Bahl
told
ETimes.
Speaking
about
how
he
bagged
the
film
after
audition,
the
actor
said,
"When
I
agreed
to
do
the
role,
Salman
said,
" Jaake
audition
kar
le".
I
was
down
and
out
in
those
days
as
six
films
featuring
me
as
a
hero
had
flopped;
I'd
had
no
work
for
two-and-half
years.
Besides,
I
was
24
and
insecure
as
I
didn't
know
where
I
was
headed
in
life.
You
can't
just
be
a
rich
parents'
kid
and
live
off
their
money.
And
it
is
not
just
about
income,
your
self-worth
also
gets
damaged
badly
in
the
process.
I
told
my
mom
about
my
plans
to
take
up
the
negative
character
and
since
she
shared
a
warm
relationship
with
the
Barjatyas,
she
called
Raj
Babuji
(late
film
producer
Raj
Kumar
Barjatya)
and
told
him
about
my
plans.
Interestingly,
it
was
Soorajji
(Barjatya)
himself
who
took
my
audition
and
he
gave
me
lines
that
would
go
on
to
achieve
cult
status:
"
Ladka
ladki
kabhi
dost
nahi
hote".
"But
after
the
test,
Raj
Babuji
came
up
to
me
and
said,
"We'd
like
to
cast
you
in
this
role,
but
aap
Nutanji
ke
bete
hain
aur
hum
unko
kya
bolenge
about
casting
you
in
a
villain's
role?"
I
assured
them
that
I
had
her
blessings,
but
he
was
still
apprehensive.
I
went
back
and
told
my
mother
that
I
should
be
getting
films
because
of
her
and
not
losing
them!
It
was
only
years
after
my
mother's
demise,
while
shooting
for
Hum
Aapke
Hai
Koun..!
(1994),
that
I
learned
from
Raj
Babuji
that
my
mom
had
called
and
spoken
to
him
about
the
incident,"
the
Sanjeevani
actor
told
ETimes.
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Elaborating
on
his
late
mother
Nutan's
conversation
with
Raj
Kumar
Barjatya,
Mohnish
revealed,
"When
we
were
shooting
for
Hum
Aapke
Hai
Koun..!
at
Mehboob
Studios,
Raj
Babuji
asked
me
if
I
recalled
the
time
they
were
hesitant
to
sign
me
for
'MPK'.
I
did
because
I
had
almost
lost
the
film.
He
went
on
to
relay
how
my
mother
had
called
him
up
to
tell
him
to
not
punish
her
son
for
being
her
son.
It
hit
me
hard;
it
still
does.
A
person
like
her,
who
has
achieved
so
much
and
was
such
a
wonderful
soul,
felt
she
was
the
cause
of
something
that
should
have
been
positive.
Raj
Babuji
promised
to
someday
offer
her
son
a
leading
role
and
that's
how
'Hum
Aapke...' happened.
He
not
only
kept
the
promise
in
one
film
but
also
in
Hum
Saath
Saath
Hain
(1999)."
After
Maine
Pyaar
Kiya,
Mohnish
collaborated
with
the
Barjatyas
on
many
films
like
Hum
Aapke
Hai
Koun..!,
Hum
Saath
Saath
Hai
among
others.
On
being
asked
about
being
their
blue-eyed
boy,
Mohnish
told
ETimes,
"Over
the
years
I
have
become
Rajshri's
old
man
also,
which
is
wonderful
because
we
all
have
to
go
that
way.
It's
nice
that
all
of
us
have
been
able
to
age
and
still
have
that
camaraderie
and
sense
of
belonging.
They
are
wonderful
people!"
Mohnish
Bahl
was
last
seen
in
Arjun
Kapoor-Kriti
Sanon's
period
drama
Panipat
which
released
in
2020.