When Govinda made Sanjay Dutt wait 9 hours on set

Govinda’s reputation for showing up late to shoots has been a long-running Bollywood tale - both amusing and exasperating for his co-stars and filmmakers. Recently, actor Rajat Bedi brought back one such unforgettable incident that perfectly captured the actor’s notorious tardiness. He revealed how Govinda once made Sanjay Dutt wait for nine long hours during the shooting of Jodi No.1.

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The 9-Hour Wait on Jodi No.1 Set

During a recent chat with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Rajat Bedi recalled the bizarre day when Jodi No.1 director David Dhawan had to alter the schedule entirely because of Govinda’s delay.

“He had taken on too much work,” Bedi said, describing Govinda as a “great human being” who “nonetheless had a very big problem.”

According to Bedi, the shoot was supposed to begin at 7 am, but Sanjay Dutt and he reached the set as early as 6 a.m.

“When we arrived, most of the crew hadn’t even reached,” Bedi shared.

“David and all of us were waiting for Govinda to come so that we could start working. Then we got to know that Govinda was at home. So someone from the set was sent to his house, and that person kept sitting outside to bring him to the set.”

Sanjay Dutt’s Patience Tested

As the hours passed, tension began to rise. “By the time it was 2 p.m., Sanjay was freaking out,” Bedi said, imitating Dutt’s frustrated reaction.

But the real twist came later when they discovered that Govinda wasn’t even in Mumbai. 

“Nobody knew he was flying from Hyderabad and coming straight to the set at 3 p.m. In those days, nobody would know where he was because he would do four to five shifts a day,” Bedi recalled.

When Chi Chi finally arrived, he got ready immediately to shoot. But before filming began, a new issue cropped up - Sanjay Dutt noticed that he had far more dialogue than Govinda.

“He started abusing the assistant and told him to give those lines to Govinda. As Sanju wasn’t ready to do it, the entire scene had to be changed on the spot,” Bedi revealed.

Despite the chaos, once the cameras rolled, the Bhagam Bhag actor completed the scene smoothly in just two hours, displaying his effortless professionalism once he was on set.

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Sanjay Dutt and Govinda: The Unlikely Duo

Sanjay Dutt and Govinda, two of Bollywood’s biggest stars of the 1990s, have collaborated on several hit films, including Jodi No.1, Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, Haseena Maan Jayegi, and Andolan. While Dutt was known for his brooding intensity and larger-than-life screen presence, Govinda charmed audiences with his impeccable comic timing and dance moves - making their on-screen partnership both dynamic and entertaining.