23 Years Of Dushman: 7 facts of Sanjay Dutt and Kajol starrer that you may not know

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Kajol and Sanjay Dutt starrer Dushman has completed 23 years. The 1998 film also starred Ashutosh Rana and was directed by Tanuja Chandra, Kajol’s mother.  Below are some of the facts you did not know about the film.

23 Years Of Dushman 7 facts of Sanjay Dutt and Kajol starrer that you may not know (1)

1. Kajol’s first of three double roles that she has played, the other two being Raju Chacha in 2000 and Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi in 2001. Dushman in 1998 fetched Kajol her fourth Filmfare Awards nomination in six years. She played the twins Sonia and Naina Sehgal, one of whom is brutally murdered.

2. In Dushman, Kajol worked for the first time with a female director Tanuja Chandra. 23 years later, she again worked with a female director in Tribhanga which was directed by Renuka Shahane , wife of actor Ashutosh Rana who  had played the terrifying psychopat  in Dushman. Small world.

3. Tanuja Chandra had initially titled the film Andhera. But, it was seen to be too negative. So, the title became Dushman. The film was an unofficial remake of the Sally Field starrer An Eye For An Eye where the focus was on the mother taking revenge on her daughter’s killer. In Dushman, it’s not the grieving mother (superbly played by Tanve Azmi) but the twin sister who takes revenge.

4. Sanjay Dutt’s role of the surviving twin’s blind love interest was an add-on. The role was not there in the original. But, the distributors and exhibitors felt the film needed a strong male lead to go with Kajol’s double role. Dutt was not only blind he was also quite oblivious as to what he was doing in the film.

5. In 1998, Kajol was nominated for Filmfare’s Best Actress in three films: Pyar To Hona Hi Tha (where she co-starred with her husband  Ajay Devgan), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dushman . She won the award for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I feel she was far superior in Dushman where she played the twins as two characters.

6. Uttam Singh’s music in Dushman was a highlight. Even today, it is impossible to listen to Lata Mangeshkar and Jagjit Singh’s ‘Chithi Na Koi Sandesh’ without getting teary eyed. The shot where the surviving twin reaches out into the empty space in the bed gives me goosebumps as I write about it.

7. Released during the year of mammoth blockbusters like Karan  Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,  Abbas-Mustan’s Soldier, Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se and Vikram Bhatt’s  Ghulam, Dushman held its own at the  box office. Many, including me, feel this is Kajol’s best film to date.

Also Read: On late mother Nargis Dutt’s death anniversary, Sanjay Dutt shares a picture from his childhood

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