4 min readNew DelhiJun 4, 2026 02:20 PM IST
Film producer Pahlaj Nihalani passed away at 76 on Thursday, June 4. The producer started his career in 1982 with the Shatrughan Sinha film Haathkadi, but it was after he started working with Govinda in the late 1980s that their fortunes changed. Govinda made his debut in the movies with Love 86 in 1986, and in the subsequent years, Pahlaj produced many films with the star. Even after Govinda started losing his stardom in the mid 2000s, Pahlaj always spoke highly about the actor, and maintained that he was always an ‘all rounder’.
‘No one as talented as Govinda’
In an earlier chat with Learn From The Legend, Pahlaj said that he made four films with Govinda and he first thought of casting the actor when he was making the 1986 film Ilzaam. It appears that he cast Govinda before his debut in the movies as Pahlaj recalled coming across Govinda’s pictures. “I saw his pictures at first and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t like his look. He came the next day with his dance video cassette. Break dance was very popular because of Michael Jackson. I asked him about his talents. Then, although I didn’t like the face much, I cast him only because of his work (dance, action, etc). My story had a lot of action, hence I asked him for a day to get back,” he said. Pahlaj said that to date, “no one as talented as” Govinda.
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Pahlaj claimed that when he cast the actor for Shola Aur Shabnam in 1992, and Aankhen in 1993, Govinda did not have much work. “When he didn’t have any work, I gave Shola Aur Shabnam to him. He was doing comedy for the first time. Then, when he didn’t have any work again, I gave him Aankhen. I changed his entire image. Both Shola Aur Shabnam and Aankhein were opposite,” he said. Govinda had five releases in 1991, including Hum; six releases in 1992; and seven releases in 1993. In another interview with Vickey Lalwani, Pahlaj said that despite his lows, Govinda handled his career very well.
Pahlaj and Govinda worried together in Ilzaam, Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen and Rangeela Raja.
‘Will never say anything wrong about Govinda’
When Govinda was going through a rough patch in Bollywood, despite delivering a hit like Partner with Salman Khan, Pahlaj claimed that at this time “everything went against Govinda”. He told Pinkvilla, “He didn’t get any films after that. Many of his big films got shut down, including one with Priyanka Chopra. If someone stabs you in the back, there’s not even a single mark left behind. You don’t even get to know. So, he has been stabbed in the back many times.”
He continued to sing Govinda’s praises until the end and said unlike the popular notion, Govinda was always on time on his set. “He has shot for me 6 am in the morning. He was never late than the assigned time,” he said and added, “I will never say anything wrong about Govinda as an actor and as a person. His thought process is at fault sometimes.”
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Aside from his films with Govinda, Pahlaj also produced Andaz with Anil Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, Talaash with Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor, among others.
