‘Music was his life and soul’

The world knows him as a talented filmmaker and director. How was your experience growing up with a celebrity father?

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He was very protective. He kept us away from the industry. When I turned 18, only then did he take me for select premieres and mahurats. But it was a very exciting life as it was not a normal household where the father leaves home at 9 and comes back at 5. He would encourage us to bunk school, have fun and go on holidays. We were quite young when he sent us, my sister Uma and I, to Europe for a school tour. It was a wonderful experience. Everyone in school and college knew him. There was a constant buzz about him and I realised that he was a very successful filmmaker.

He was far ahead of his time, sometimes exploring taboo subjects as well as many women-oriented themes. Did he ever discuss his films at home?

No, he did not discuss his projects at home ever. But music was a constant in our home. He loved playing the piano which my sister Uma and I also used to play regularly. He loved playing the harmonium and singing his favourite songs.

While writing the book, how did you filter his professional and personal life?

The idea was to present his craft of filmmaking. Every artiste has his personal life. To us, he was loving, kind and generous. There were long absences which got compensated by spending time with our aunts and grandparents. My mother was always there for us.

Your father called Guru Dutt and Dev Anand his mentors. Was the Khosla family also close to their families?

He and Dev Anand were great friends. He was very fond of Dev Uncle and Goldie Uncle and he would often talk about them. Sunil Dutt was also a frequent visitor to our place. Sunil Uncle’s daughters studied with us in the same school. Nargisji had danced at my sister Uma’s wedding. Dad also helped out with the direction of ‘Rocky’ (1981) when Nargisji fell ill and Dutt saab had to be with her in USA. Sanjay Dutt later came to invite Dad for the premiere of ‘Rocky’.

Your father was known for his musical evenings. Were you as kids part of it?

Music was his life and soul. He breathed and lived music. He loved KL Saigal, Hemant Kumar and especially Lata Mangeshkar. He was always humming some tune. ‘Ek bangla bane nyaara’ was one of his favourite songs. Music was an integral part of him, as was poetry. Dad loved Jagjit Singh’s ghazals and had a big LP collection of his ghazals. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was his favourite poet.

Your father was born in Punjab. Was Punjabi spoken at home and did he keep in touch with these roots?

He was very proud of his Punjabi origins and the fact that he was from Gurdaspur. At home, he would speak in Punjabi with mom sometimes. He loved having his relatives over from Punjab and would take them to his film sets. I can’t speak Punjabi but can understand it well as I did my graduation from Chandigarh.