Naam: The film Kumar Gaurav made for buddy Sanjay Dutt

"Even though it was a two-hero project, Rajendra Kumar knew that the audience's sympathies would eventually swing from Kumar Gaurav's character Ravi to Sanju's bad boy Vicky,"


Sanjay Dutt's career got off to a Rocky start in '81. Following a battle with drugs and a series of flops, it had hit a dead end five years later. In these testing times, his buddy who became his brother-in-law, Kumar Gaurav, not only stood by him but was determined to make a film that would bring him back into the race. This film was Naam.

The idea of two half-brothers came from Mahesh Bhatt, who during his growing up years was haunted by the ghost of his own illegitimacy. He sketched out the story of Ravi and Vicky to the two young actors and instantly, impulsively, Kumar Gaurav decided to turn it into a film under his banner.

His father, Rajendra Kumar, wasn't convinced, having spotted the dangers inherent in the script."Even though it was a two-hero project, Rajendra Kumar knew that the audience's sympathies would eventually swing from Kumar Gaurav's character Ravi to Sanju's bad boy Vicky," reasons Bhatt who went on to direct the film.

Naturally, no father would want his son to get overshadowed in a film he was producing but Kumar Gauarv stood his ground and insisted he wanted to make this film and none other. Eventually his dad gave in.

Bhatt then took his idea to Salim Khan. After the split of the Salim-Javed jodi, Javed Akhtar was the one getting the plum offers and it was being said that Salim had been just the business component in the partnership that had given Bollywood blockbusters like Sholay, Zanjeer, Trishul and Seeta Aur Geeta. Naam brought Salim Khan back into the spotlight as a scriptwriter and he gave it all he had. "He added box-office sparkle to my offbeat story of two half brothers and turned it into a blockbuster. Naam was my first golden jubilee," reminisces Bhatt.

Sanjay Dutt, he remembers, was like a bhakt who surrendered himself completely to the film with single-minded dedication and boundless energy. "I never saw that kind of focus in Sanju again. With his stunning performance , he broke people's heart. We became a lifelong friend and years later, on the eve of his departure to the Yerwada Jail, I remember sitting with him and feeling as helpless as Kumar Gaurav's character in Naam because there was so little that I could do for him," he sighs.