Vinay Sapru & Radhika Rao Reveal The 3 Month Prep Behind The Crow in Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate

The song Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate featured four crows performing all sorts of playful tricks with Shiamak Davar. Fans were amazed by the crows, some even wondered if they were real or created with CGI. The filmmakers Vinay Sapru & Radhika Rao reveal the story behind this unique and memorable music video.

Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate starred Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Reema Lagoo, and Sajid Khan. Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee (in his final film), it told the story of a man who couldn't stop lying. For the title track, composed by Anand-Milind and sung by Shiamak, Hrishikesh Mukherjee brought in two young, fresh-out-of-film-school directors Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao to create a special music video.

Vinay and Radhika recall, "It was the beginning of our career. We had started making movies when we got a call that Hrishikesh Mukherjee ji wanted to meet us. At that point in our career, it was unbelievable, getting a call from the guru himself. He told us he was doing a film titled Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, and he wanted a song that depicts the story of the film. We felt that if the narrative has to be told as an OST track, then the crow has to be an integral part of it."

The director-duo, who were fresh out of filmmaking school at the time, say they initially mulled over opting for a puppet or CGI crow, but then decided to go for the real deal, 'knowing Hrishida's style of filmmaking'. Normally, when filmmakers want to use animals, they reach out to animal trainers. Vinay and Radhika did the same, but the trainers were stunned by their request, as nobody trains crows. "They were enthusiastic about the concept," the filmmakers recall, "Still, it was a risk because even they didn't know the behavioural pattern of a crow. They are not kept as pets."

Eventually, the animal trainers sourced four crows, and a three-month training program began. Vinay and Radhika tell us, "What we learnt every crow had a different nature, one was angry, one lazy, one overactive. The song required the crow to do a lot of stuff - have a soft drink, eat some food, sit on Shiamak's shoulder, and even wear a cap. So, we divided those tasks between four crows. And since they looked similar, we knew nobody would be able to tell the difference." The filmmakers named the crows Happy, Sleepy, Grumpy, and Dopey, after four of the seven dwarfs from Snow White's tale.

The end result of the training was a one-of-a-kind music video starring a crow. "I don't know if they used real crows even in Brandon Lee's Crow. But in India, we knew this had not been done. So, we felt honoured to be able to try this," say Vinay and Radhika.

Even 27 years later, with all the advancements in CGI and VFX, the directors insist they would still choose real birds over computer graphics. "You can create those movements with CGI now, but each crow's personality brought something unique to the scene. Nothing beats real," they add.

Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate was released in December 1998 and became a moderate box office success. The song and its quirky music video, however, became a big hit, topping music charts and winning over fans everywhere.