4 min readMumbaiJul 26, 2026 10:51 AM IST
Actor Govinda has long been admired for his performances. However, his habit of arriving late on set has often been a point of discussion among his co-stars. Now, in a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, actress Shagufta Ali reflected on working with Govinda. She also revealed that his habit of arriving late on set often irked Kader Khan.
Shagufta Ali on Govinda coming late
Recalling their outdoor schedule in Ooty for Hero No. 1, Shagufta Ali said, “We used to have great fun whether Govinda or Karisma were on the set or not. We were on a paid picnic. The outdoor shoot in Ooty was great. We had stayed at Mithun Da’s hotel. When he got to know about it, he came to meet us and treated us to seafood he personally cooked.”
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Shagufta further revealed that Govinda would often arrive four to five hours after the scheduled call time. “Govinda used to come late on set here too. If the shift were 9 am, he would come by 1 or 2 pm, and never before that. This was the only issue with Govinda; otherwise he was a very nice person. I have done 3-4 films with him. He is a very nice person, fun-loving. He does 25 rehearsals. Govinda is a bigger perfectionist than Aamir Khan. David sir would okay the take, but he would still insist and also apologise to others. His eye for perfection was so strong that he didn’t care if the person opposite him was tired,” Shagufta said.
She also shared that Kader Khan would often complain about Govinda arriving late on set. “Kader Khan would get very angry with Govinda for arriving late; others would get irritated too. We had to wait for him every day. Even though he would not show his anger openly, he would grumble about it.”
‘Govinda is superstitious’
During the interview, Shagufta Ali also recalled Govinda’s spiritual side, revealing that he would even set up small temples in his hotel rooms. She shared, “Govinda is superstitious. He was particular about timings. He believed in doing things only at an auspicious time. Once we went to Coimbatore for a film called Banarsi Babu. We stayed in a hotel where the fan wasn’t working in my room. I had complained to the production, and somehow it reached Govinda. Since he was travelling to Mumbai for three days, he offered me his room. He called me up and asked me to come and see the room once. When I went to his room, I saw he had made a temple on one side of the room. It looked so beautiful. I was very mindful not to disrespect that, which is why I refused to stay there. But he insisted and called for my bags.”
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She further added, “After he left, I shifted back to my room because I was mindful to keep that place clean. He used to listen to his mother a lot, respected her, and would praise her. If his mother said, ‘You will go for the shoot at this time,’ he would obey. I don’t know if there was an astrological reason behind it.”
Earlier in March, David Dhawan also spoke about Govinda’s habit of arriving late on film sets. On The Great Indian Kapil Show, David shared, “People say that he comes late to the sets, but tell me who doesn’t arrive late these days? He arrives, completes his work, and then leaves. And you will not believe it. He would show up and ask for his scene. It would be a four-page scene. He would go through it thoroughly while I was setting up the shot. He said, ‘Don’t set it up yet. Do one thing. Here’s the scene. Watch me perform. I’ll do it in one take.’ This was in Partner. He did all kinds of acrobatics in that scene; you can’t imagine. Then he told me to edit the scene however I wanted. Unbelievable. Govinda is incredible.”
