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00:00I had three heart attacks, one heart failure and then my knee surgery and then a bout of cancer or whatever that happened to me.
00:08Today, 90% of the people die because of stress.
00:12Very true, very true. You understand? It's not heart attacks or cancer. 90% of them die out of stress.
00:18Good evening. This is Manjusha Radhakrishnan. I'm the entertainment editor Gulf News.
00:22I have with me one of the most flamboyant businessmen and Bollywood film producer, Mr. Rajan Lal.
00:29The reason why I'm talking to him today is because he is the subject of a very interesting book.
00:35It's called I Did It My Way. I love the title. By the way, it says my story of love, betrayal, regret and wisdom.
00:42So let's start with the title. Let's talk about the tagline here.
00:46What's it about love that you can tell us? Keeping in mind that he was also known as the dubbing king of India.
00:53Long before I think even Bollywood stars began going down south and talking about how great we were.
01:00He saw promise. He dubbed Apuraja into Hindi and found an audience.
01:06So it's been a tremendous journey, right?
01:08Absolutely. It's been a tremendous journey.
01:11And I started this in 1988 or something like that.
01:16And all this happened, like I said to you earlier, all happened by chance. It just came to me.
01:21Starting with your first question, my story of love, betrayal, regret and wisdom.
01:27This is a title which has come out of my heart because even the title I did was because I did it my way.
01:36The story of love is, you know, when you're young and you fall in love, you make all the mistakes you want to.
01:42You're allowed to make mistakes. And then there was betrayal. Some of it from my side, which I admit.
01:50Some of it from the other side in business and in your personal relationships.
01:55And then as you grow older, you start regretting what you did because you have hurt so many people who are close to you.
02:06Your wife, your children, your family, your friends, your business people.
02:12And then the regret creeps in and wisdom. It's finally at my age of 78.
02:20This dawned upon me maybe, I've been five, six years back, maybe across 70.
02:27But more, when I was in hospital in ICU, when I had my four heart attacks, an aortic valve replacement, a knee surgery, COVID,
02:38and a bout of cancer, everything that I went through. And you know, when you're sitting, when you're lying in the ICU,
02:47and you've got all these pipes in your, and there's nobody there. And then you start thinking what is life all about?
02:55And you start thinking, you know, all the money, all the properties, and yeh mera hai, woh mera hai. And it's nothing. It has no meaning.
03:06And that's the time when wisdom dawned upon me. And I said, yeh toh kuch nahi hai. So what do you do?
03:14At least now, God has given you with all that I've been through, and I'm sitting here and talking to you.
03:20I mean, you would be astonished. How the hell is this guy even sitting here? Because I went through such a lot of these issues.
03:28And I faced them all with a lot of positive attitude. When I, when I, and they told me that you have, you have an aortic valve replacement,
03:37or you have three heart attacks, one heart failure, and then my knee surgery, and then a bout of cancer, or whatever that happened to me.
03:45I was taking it very light. Everybody else was surprised. What happened? I said, nothing. What has to happen, will happen.
03:52And I've always been positive in my thinking. I said, agar hai toh hai, what do you do?
03:56You see, why take stress? This is something which I tell a lot of my friends. I said, I'm so stressed out about work. I'm stressed out about relationship.
04:05I said, why are you stressing out? Is it given you a solution? No. I said, then why are you stressing out?
04:13Today, 90% of the people die because of stress. Very true. Very true. I get what you do.
04:19You understand? It's not heart attacks or cancer. 90% of them die out of stress. And I said, why are you taking stress?
04:25I said, I got wisdom at my age. It's like achieving nirvana, I swear to God. But today, I said, what's it all about?
04:35Yes. I don't take stress. Whatever happens, heaven may fall, whatever. Actually, if it has to happen, it will happen.
04:40Right. And I've been very positive. And I think somewhere down the line when I meet people like you or whoever, I think that positive energy or that vibe goes across to those people.
04:51And they say, sir, can we talk to you? Can we sit down and talk to you? I mean, it's happening to me.
04:55Of course. Because I learned this from Mr. Surilla, who is my mentor, my brother, my friend.
05:02He was the most positive man that I met in my life. And I used to just sit and listen to him.
05:08He faced hurdles and mishaps like no other man that I've seen in my life. And he faced it with a very positive attitude and came out winning.
05:19Okay. And he, I picked up a lot from him besides the other people who came in my life, who guided me, mentored me.
05:28But they didn't know they were guides and mentors. But even more, the people who betrayed me, the people more who stabbed me in the back.
05:35And they were part of family. And they were also part of friends. So when you learn from all this, these people taught you something.
05:41Yeah. You know, so all of these, these, these experiences in my life, which I've faced, has been out of all the people that I've come across.
05:50And today, I am very proud to say that I have kept my relationship with everybody all across the world, from my school, from my college.
05:59And that day, you saw at my event, how I, how I felicitated my staff of 35 years in India.
06:06House help as well.
06:07Yes. And finally, my help, my house help of two boys, who've been with me for 25 years, and my darling dog.
06:14Yes, of course.
06:15Who I felicitated. Because they are my lifeline.
06:17In this book, one of the most interesting bits was that do not marry young. He got married at 21, and then married again, etc.
06:24But you said, don't marry in your 20s. That was a very powerful piece of advice for people who are perhaps lost or want to.
06:30I think so. Today, today, the generation, the new generation has changed. I think they don't make the same mistakes we made in our, in our youth.
06:38You see, you meet a girl when you are just 19 or 20, and you suddenly know her for six months, and you say, this is the girl for me kind of thing, and you, I'll take home to mama.
06:48And that's not how it works. And you have to get to know the person.
06:53More important than that, my advice is, I meet the mother first.
06:57Because she's going to be exactly like that 20 years from now.
07:02So you meet the mother first. If the mother is good, kind-hearted, good temperament, and homely, and you know what it is, you talk to the mother.
07:09See, what you are marrying is basically the mother.
07:12So when you meet that girl, and you know the mother, that's the time you can really get to know what she's going to be like.
07:18Because...
07:19So how did that work for you?
07:21It didn't work for me.
07:23Even that did not work for you?
07:26That didn't work for me.
07:27Oh no!
07:28Unfortunately, I have not met the mother.
07:31That's terrible, but yeah.
07:33But God bless, rest us all.
07:35Yes.
07:36But she was a nice girl, very nice girl. She still is.
07:38And it's unfortunately that things didn't work out between us.
07:42Yes.
07:43But you know, at our age, we are very impulsive.
07:45We are very, we take decisions on emotions, which affect the lives of a lot of people.
07:51And that is something that I have...
07:53The regrets.
07:55The regret in my life.
07:56That's the bad.
07:57That's the main regret, is that when I got married in 69, and I had my first son at 71,
08:04Amit, and my second son at 78, at 1978.
08:08And they are both now 54 and 45 or 46.
08:13I was not there for them during their childhood.
08:17I missed, they missed the childhood of a father, of me being there for them and I being there for them.
08:23That's because in 80 I left the marital home for whatever reasons there were.
08:27There were a lot of reasons.
08:28But when you think about this, the people who were affected in this was the children, the wife, and the parents.
08:37That was what affected them most.
08:40And me, because of my ego, pride, or impulsive decision making, or whatever you call it, I am entirely to be blamed for whatever happened to them.
08:52I take the entire blame for them because my children, if they forgive me now, even today, if they are with me, today they are with me in my business.
09:05They have a good relationship with them.
09:06Everything.
09:07But when they got to know their father, when they reached 16th, 17th, they said, we got to know our father.
09:12And when they get into that thing, they want to think of their own and take decisions of their own.
09:16They said, we got to hear both sides of the story.
09:18Fair enough.
09:19So when they come and met me and I talked to them and explained to them, they understood.
09:23And now, today, both my children are with me and I am so blessed.
09:28Fantastic.
09:29That both my children are there for me, taking care of me.
09:31And I can't undo what has happened.
09:35But that regret is there and that's why the word regret I have used.
09:40And the main regret is my children and my family whom I hurt, my father, mother, my wife, and my two children.
09:48Of course, I was ostracized by society in those days because when you do that, all your friends leave you.
09:53You know, when they are coming to meet you, their wives pull their husbands away and say, don't meet this man.
09:58This man has left his wife and family.
10:00So I was ostracized from society and lived with it.
10:03Last question.
10:04If your life story was made into a movie, what would the title be?
10:09Who would star in it?
10:10I don't know who would star in it.
10:12But you know what?
10:13Let's say Hrithik Roshan.
10:14I like Hrithik Roshan.
10:15I think that would do it.
10:16No one looking like Hrithik Roshan.
10:18Creative liberties.
10:19Come on.
10:20I know.
10:21But this very strange thing happened.
10:23Last month I had a person, Gagan.
10:25You know Gagan.
10:26He brought a person called Mr. Brahmanan Singh.
10:29He's a documentary filmmaker.
10:31You've heard of him.
10:32Right.
10:33He's made the documentary for Jagjit Singh called Kaagas Ki Kashti.
10:37If you've heard of that.
10:38Yes, yes.
10:39And he's made a film called The Making of R.D. Brahman.
10:42Okay.
10:43Which won him the national award.
10:44Got it, got it.
10:45Right?
10:46Yes.
10:47He said, there's somebody who wants to meet you.
10:48So, he brought him here at home the other day.
10:50And I had a child.
10:51He said, you know what Mr. Lal, I've been looking at your podcast.
10:54And you have a very interesting story to tell.
10:58Because your life has been full of ups and downs and relationships and heartbreaks.
11:03And you know, all this what you mentioned in your book.
11:06And I want to make a documentary on you.
11:09I said, who will buy my documentary?
11:11I'm a nobody.
11:12He said, no.
11:13I want to make a documentary on you.
11:16Give me two months of your time and I'll make a documentary.
11:18So, you have signed on for a documentary now?
11:20No, we're talking about it.
11:21Yeah.
11:22We're talking about it.
11:23I said, let this book be released.
11:24Yeah.
11:25Let the Bombay release happen which is happening on 1st of March.
11:27And let's put it out in the open and see how it goes.
11:30Sounds good.
11:31And then we'll think of it.
11:32He said, I said, even if this documentary, I have to sit at home and watch it by myself
11:36with my friends and my family.
11:37He'll watch it.
11:38Okay.
11:39But let's do it.
11:40Because you've got to leave a legacy behind.
11:43See, today there's no documentation of all the legends you have passed.
11:48You have documents of Lata Mangeshkar, of Muhammad Rafi, of K. R. Sif, of Kamala Amrohi,
11:54of Devangan, Dilipkwaran.
11:55Nothing.
11:56There's no documentation of any of these legends.
11:58So, this is a chronicling of songs.
12:00And this making of the Roshan, the Roshan which has been released by my friend, directed
12:05by Shati Ranjan and Rake.
12:06Ranjan, yeah.
12:07And Rake.
12:08Goodo who has been my friend for 45 years.
12:09I think it's a great thing that's happened for Indian cinema.
12:13Where a lot of people like Darminder or like Shatrugansi, you know, all who have danced.
12:18I have my friend, Ketan Desai staying with me just now.
12:21Now, Ketan Desai is the son of the legendary filmmaker, Manmohan Desai.
12:26Ketan is the son, only son.
12:29He's married to Kanshan, who is Shami Kapoor's daughter.
12:32He's staying with me for last.
12:34He flew down for my birthday and my event.
12:36Right.
12:37And he's staying with me.
12:38Excellent.
12:39He's a lovely guy.
12:40That's the kind of friends that I have kept.
12:42And I told him, I said, Ketan, you need to make a documentary on your father.
12:47He's a legend.
12:48Manmohan Desai, yeah.
12:49I mean, what all he has made and done and how he lived his life, you know.
12:53And you've got material for a documentary.
12:55So there you go.
12:56He said, yes, I'm your right, Rajan.
12:58Please guide me and tell me.
12:59I said, I'll guide you, but make it.
13:01You know, we need to document our lives.
13:04I'm not talking of mine.
13:05Mine is completely worthless.
13:07I am nobody compared to these people.
13:09He's being modest, but yes.
13:10But, you know, this needs to be done.
13:13You know, like you have documentary on Celine Dion.
13:16You have documentary on...
13:17Jennifer Lopez, just super bold.
13:18Just one episode of their lives.
13:20Yes, they have documentary.
13:21In India, nobody's documentary.
13:23Fair enough.
13:24That is what I'm saying.
13:25I can't wait to see the documentary.
13:27Now that we have a book as well.
13:29But I'm so glad you did things your way.
13:31And I hope in life you always master your own deeds.
13:34I will, I will.
13:35I can't change now.
13:36I mean, I'm 78 now and I don't...
13:39You don't know any other way.
13:40I don't know any other way.
13:41I'm going to do things.
13:42Take it or leave it.
13:43If people don't like you, it's there.
13:48You're good.
13:49You're good.
13:50You're good.
13:51You're good.
13:52You're good.
13:53I know you don't have to tell me.
13:54You're good.
13:55You're good.
13:56And it's weird.
13:57Yeah, we're good.
13:59And we're good.
14:00You're good.
14:01We got this.
14:02You're good.
14:03You're good.
14:04You're good, man.
14:05I'm really good.