30 Years of Maya Memsaab EXCLUSIVE: The budget of the film must be Rs. 20-25 lakhs; Shah Rukh Khan must have been paid in thousands Ketan Mehta

Ketan Mehta exclusively spoke to Bollywood Hungama as his acclaimed film Maya Memsaab (1992) completed 30 years on July 2. Starring Deepa Sahi, Shah Rukh Khan, Farooq Sheikh and Raj Babbar, one of the first things that one notices when one watches Maya Memsaab is that it is an Indo-UK-France co-production. Many such projects are made nowadays but back then, this was rare.

When asked about it, Ketan Mehta replied, “Maya Memsaab would be truly one of the first international co-productions from India. It was co-produced by UK’s Channel Four Television Co Ltd and Video Cinema 13 Production, France. Maya Memsaab is based on the French classic novel ‘Madame Bovary’ by Gustave Flaubert. The film started with a bank loan from NFDC (National Film Development Corporation of India). To catch the last of the snow, we rushed to Himachal Pradesh to shoot a sequence. We got caught in a snowstorm and it disrupted our shoot. As a result, funds fell short. In order to complete it, we rushed to the UK to explore the opportunities of co-production. Because of the script and the material that we had already shot, we managed to bag a co-production from Channel Four. Then we headed to France and met this person who had worked on a film with Mira Nair earlier (Salaam Bombay; 1988). He also loved the project. Sometimes, miracles happen and this is how this co-production came about (smiles).”

When prodded about what was the budget of the film, Ketan Mehta said, “I don’t even remember. It must be Rs. 20-25 lakhs.”

And how much was Shah Rukh Khan paid, considering that this was the first film for which he shot? He stated, “Again, I don’t recall. But it must be in thousands (smiles).”

Also Read: EXPLOSIVE: Ketan Mehta slams Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika – The Queen Of Jhansi: “What finally was made was pathetic, to say the least. It was jingoistic and nationalistic”

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