In 2015, when Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan released, no one could have imagined it will go on to become a modern-day classic. After all, in Bollywood’s world of glitz, glamour, and masala, a poignant tale on the far-reaching effects of grief, with a debutant male lead, was not the ‘story that sells’.
And yet, Masaan went on to become a movie that touched people’s hearts, and its songs and scenes are still fresh in our minds.
Especially the moment when Deepak breaks down and cries, “saala yeh dukh kahe khatam nahi hota”.
Varun Grover’s writing, Neeraj Ghaywan’s direction, and Vicky Kaushal’s acting came together to give us one of the most heartbreaking yet memorable scenes in Bollywood history. But, this is how the scene actually came about.
According to Film Companion, Varun Grover, the film’s writer, shared that this was one of his most favourite scenes from the film, and originally, featured a lengthier monologue which ended with the line, “Saala yeh dukh kaahe khatam nahi hota?”
However, at the time of the shoot, Vicky consumed alcohol for the first time to be more authentic. As a result, he started crying inconsolably during the scene, even though, as per the script, he had to only cry once – at the end, when he throws the ring in the river.
He was so passionate and authentic, that there was not a single dry eye on the set, when he was performing.
He drank the alcohol and got so involved in the scene that he just started crying uncontrollably. He did the scene again and again – a three-minute-long scene got stretched to 8 mins. By chance, a train happened to pass by in the background so he turned around improvised and said, ‘Tu rail se guzarti hai’. He cried so much that almost all the people on set started crying, even those who didn’t have a big connection to the film, like the light assistant and camera assistant.
-Varun Grover to Film Companion
Once the shoot ended, Varun was still not sure if the scene would make it to the film but Neeraj Ghaywan, was confident that the scene worked. But after the final edit, even Grover had to agree, the improvised scene worked better than what had been originally scripted. And it continued to be his favourite scene.
Vicky used the script as an airstrip and flew. He made something that was completely his own, and even better. This is my favourite scene, in the script as well as in the film
You can watch the scene here:
What a masterpiece!