Bollywood’s ‘bad man’, Gulshan Grover, appeared on Archana Puran Singh’s YouTube channel, where he spoke about his upcoming movie, Heer Express. The film has been produced by Gulshan’s son, Sanjay, who worked as a development executive in Hollywood. Gulshan said that he is extremely proud of Sanjay for bringing his experience and expertise to an Indian production, and said that working on the project gave them an opportunity to reconnect. He said that Sanjay grew up away from him, as he’d divorced his mother.
Chatting with Archana, Gulshan said that at this stage in his life, all he wants to do is leave a legacy behind for his son, and to see his son succeed. Archana’s husband, Parmeet Sethi, asked Gulshan how he wants to be remembered as a person, and Gulshan said, “I want to see big success, big achievements, but for my son, Sanjay Grover. Sanjay went to study in UCLA, and one day, I had a meeting at the Hollywood studio MGM. Sanjay said that he wanted to accompany me, because he wanted to see all the Oscars that they have in the lobby of their office.”
Gulshan said that during the meeting, which was with former MGM co-CEO Mary Parent, Sanjay kept contradicting everything she said. “Like any Punjabi dad, I felt like taking him out and thrashing him. But, to my surprise, after the meeting, Mary handed him her details and said that a job would be waiting for him once he graduates. I was so proud. I felt like a village idiot,” Gulshan said.
Asked why Sanjay gave up his career in Hollywood and moved back to India, Gulshan said, “I am divorced from his mother, and she lives separately. Any parent would feel like enough is enough, my son has lived outside for so many years, we should live together now. He came, and we worked out an arrangement where he would stay on the top floor of my duplex house, and I would stay on the bottom floor. He was free to enter my space, but I didn’t have permission to enter his space.”
In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, Gulshan had spoken about his son’s ambition to become an actor. “His experience of making films in Hollywood as well as watching world cinema – German, French, American, Korean is fabulous. Jitna wo dekhta hai, utna mujhe dekhne me 10 saal lag jaaenge. So his experience and exposure to not just the most talked about projects but also the hidden gems, helps me get a certain kind of vision, which I do not possess,” he said.
Gulshan said that he had to ’emotionally blackmail’ his son to return to India and try his luck out at acting. Sanjay worked at the Hollywood studio MGM, and recently co-produced director Tarsem Singh’s Dear Jassi. Heer Express has been directed by Umesh Shukla, best known for films such as OMG – Oh My God and 102 Not Out.
