He was willing to give it one more try, his best try at a time when he would have to compete with puny little directors less than half his age.

Then there were the optimists, all the men, at Polygram, Vijay Lazarus, the man at the helm of affairs, especially, who kept encouraging Hrishida. They wanted him to make Jhoot Bolay Kauva Kaatay. It was Hrishida’s own favourite subject, a sequel to his films like Naram Garam and Gol Maal which had literally stolen the hearts of millions in the seventies and the eighties. He wanted to make it with some known stars but the pessimists still tempted him to believe that the stars today were monsters who would maul him, make life hell for him at a time when he could take things easy, live on his past laurels, make a TV serial once in a way.

The optimists however triumphed. Hrishida talked to some of the stars. They listened to him with respect. Anil Kapoor needed just one narration to say yes. Juhi Chawla, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher and Reema followed. They realised Hrishida was still sharper than some of the younger directors they were working with. They realised he had complete command over his subject, over the language (forget the pronounciation), over the music, over the humour, over every other emotion involved in Jhoot Bolay Kauva Kaatay.

On the very first day of shooting at Mehboob Studios Hrishida completed six major scenes with Anil, Juhi, Amrish, Anupam and Reema and the stars just kept staring at him in sheer disbelief. How could this seventy-eight-year old man with so many physical ailments do all that? That was the one question they asked during all the days of the shooting and Anupam Kher finally had the answer. Said Anupam, “The man has no other diversions, no other temptation. His film is everything else for him. We are just like little children who he treats with so much care, with so much understanding. He knows every character he is dealing with inside out. He knows our movements, our moods, everything about the characters we are playing. We don’t have to worry about anything on his sets. We have to just play into his hands, surrender to him totally and I know all of us will come up with fantastic roles and finally a fantastic film."

Hrishida says he is very alive to the needs of the changing times, the needs of the people who see films today. He knows he has to make every effort to entertain as many people as possible and enlighten them more than entertain them."I know I am working under very different circumstances. There have been so many rapid changes in every field. I am fortunate not to have lost touch. I am happy that I have got the kind of artists today who understand me, who understand my kind of cinema, my kind of demands. I don’t want to win any awards at this stage of my career. I want artistes like Anil and Juhi and Amrish and Anupam to win awards, to be appreciated. I don’t want my film to be a bad film. I can not be unfaithful and ungrateful to God and the people who have given me so much love for so many years which has kept me alive to make a film after my heart, a film like Jhoot Bolay Kauva Kaatay which could perhaps be my last film. How much longer can I hope to live? How much longer can I go on making films? It is very dangerous to be ambitious at this stage. It is a sin, I think to crave for more and more."

Hrishida has put his stars to shame by shooting one hectic schedule after another. His determination has not let him fall sick, not once. He has shot in the hills of Mahabaleshwar. He is now shooting in the hills of Kulu Manali and his stars are with him, inspiring him to make his best film to date. It will be difficult to say if Jhoot Bolay Kauva Kaatay will be his best film. But it will certainly be a film which will always be remembered, a film for which a seventy-eight year old young man with artificial knees walked around, climbed around and inspired his team to follow him to make a film that would be remembered for years to come. He is the last of the titans who would not have tried to make a film like this without a goal which will never betray him. I hope his goal doesn’t give him up. It has kept him going so far. Where do goals find great men like Hrishida who can pamper them with passion, fulfil them with love, care and understanding?