Happy Birthday Wishes to Asrani Ji

Govardhan Asrani, popularly known simply as Asrani, (born 1st Jan 1941) is well-known actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead hero, character roles, comedic roles and supporting roles. In Hindi films, he played the comedian's role from 1966 to 2013 and played supporting actor's role as the close friend of the lead hero in many films between 1972-1994. In a few Hindi films like Chala Murari Hero Banne and Salaam Memsaab he played the main lead hero. In Gujarati films he played the lead hero from 1972 to 1984 and played character roles from 1985 to 2012. He has also directed 6 films between 1974-1997.
He began to learn acting from Sahitya Kalbhai Thakkar from 1960 to 1962. In 1962, he travelled to Bombay (now Mumbai) and began to seek opportunities to act. In 1963, on an accidental meeting with Kishore Sahu and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, they advised him to learn acting professionally. In 1964 Asrani joined the Film Institute in Poona (now Film and Television Institute of India, Pune) and finished his course in 1966.
He got his first break in Hindi films playing the friend of actor Biswajeet in the film Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan in 1967. He acted in four other movies, mainly as actor or supporting actor in Gujarati from 1967 to 1969. He did not get much offers from Hindi film industry between 1967-69. His old advisor, Hrishikesh Mukherjee then gave him role of supporting actor in the film Satyakam in 1969. He got noticed then in the film Mere Apne. It was from 1971 that he started getting more offers as the main comedian in films or as the close friend of the lead actor.

Directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Atma Ram, Gulzar repeatedly cast him in the period 1971-1974 and his work got noticed through these films. These roles he did from 1971-1974 set the tone for a number of supporting and comic roles in his career and in the 1970s his demand was at its peak as he appeared in 101 films from 1970-1979 and had effective roles in them.  Asrani worked in 25 films with Rajesh Khanna from 1972-1991 from Bawarchi (1972) to Ghar Parivaar (1991).

In the 1980s, he acted in 107 Hindi films. Asrani holds record for appearing as a character actor/comedian in most number of Hindi films in a decade – 101 in the 1970s and 107 in the 1980s. Unlike his roles in 1970-84 which were pivotal to the plot, most of his roles from 1985-1993 were very minor mainly because the concept of a comedian was getting phased out and heroes preferred to do their own comedy and action films were ruling the roost in the period 1985-1994.
D.Rama Naidu gave a pivotal role to Asrani in Taqdeerwala in 1995 and once again comedy movies were being made from there on . Asrani started getting good roles in films directed by David Dhawan and Priyadarshan from 1993 until 2012. His most memorable performances as comedian from the 1990s are in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Gardish, Taqdeerwala, Gharwali Baharwali, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Hero Hindustani.
The 2000s saw Asrani in a number of films like Hera Pheri, Chup Chup Ke, Hulchul, Deewane Huye Paagal, Garam Masala, Chup Chup Ke, Malamaal Weekly, Bhagam Bhag, De Dana Dan, Bol Bachchan, Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal which had him in effective comedy roles. He appeared in a serious role in Kyun Ki. He was an integral part of comedies by Sajid Nadiadwala, Priyadarshan after 2000. His screen space in films of Rohit Shetty and others has got reduced gradually after 2009.