Popular action director Tinu Verma was a prominent name when it came to designing action sequences in the 90s. He also played the main antagonist Gujjar Singh in Aamir Khan-Twinkle Khanna’s 2000 box office disaster, Mela.
Recently, when Tinu Verma indulged in a conversation with Mukesh Khanna for the latter’s YouTube channel, he recalled an incident where he slapped Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan when they were shooting an elaborate action sequence for Milan Luthria’s 1999 film, Kachche Dhaage.
According to Verma, while shooting an action sequence which involved a train, Saif missed the cue several times which wasted a lot of time of other actors including Saif’s co-star Ajay Devgn and other crew members.
When a disappointed Tinu asked Saif about the reason why he didn’t move after hearing “Action”, the actor replied that he was enjoying the bumps in the train. Hearing his explanation, the action director lost his cool and slapped Saif in front of the whole cast and the crew. When Ajay stepped in to intervene, he even warned him to not interrupt in between.
Tinu revealed that he rebuked Saif for his casual attitude and unprofessionalism on the sets. As per him, he advised the Adipurush star to respect the technicians who present actors on the big screen with respect in order to move ahead in his life. The action director claimed that he asked Saif to leave the film if he couldn’t respect the technicians.
Verma told Saif, “Nawab ke bete ho na, baap ka diya bahut kuch hai. Insult mat karo. Itne bade set pe maine aapko thappad maara aapko achcha laga? Yeh meri guru dakshina hai. Aap bhool gaye they na, aap mere ground pe aaye action seekhne ke liye Parampara film ke liye. Yaad hai na aapko. (You are a Nawab, your father has left a lot of money for you. Don’t insult others. Now, I slapped you in front of everyone, did you like it? I am your guru. Did you forget you came to my ground to learn fighting styles during the shoot of Parampara.)”
Helmed by Milan Luthria, Kachche Dhaage revolves around how two step-brothers who loathe each other, end up working together to avoid being framed for terrorist activities. The film also features Manisha Koirala and Namrata Shirodkar in pivotal roles.