A day after director Shekhar Kapur voiced his dissatisfaction at not being involved in a follow-up to his film, Mr India, actor Govinda has spoken about the upcoming reboot of his 1995 film, Coolie No 1. The new film will star Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles, and will be directed by David Dhawan.

Speaking to Zoom, Govinda said that he wishes ‘all the best’ to Varun, who has said that he admires Govinda. He said it is always encouraging when young actors look up to ‘seniors’ for inspiration. “We used to do that too, when we were young,” he said. “I go on tours and I’m told all the time that such and such young star says he wants to be like me,” Govinda added.

Govinda recently made disparaging remarks against David Dhawan, with whom he collaborated on several hit films in the 90s. Speaking with journalist Rajat Sharma on the show Aap Ki Adalat, Govinda said, “After I left politics, I told my secretary to keep the phone speaker on, so that I could listen what he (David Dhawan) was saying. I heard David saying, Chi-Chi (Govinda’s nickname) is questioning a lot. He was telling my secretary, I do not want to work with Govinda anymore. Tell him to do some small bit roles. This shocked me and I decided never to work with him. After 4-5 months, I again rang him up just to find out if he would give me a guest appearance in his film. He then never rang me back. I am revealing this in public after so many years. I think he is under somebody’s influence. I do not think he is that same David Dhawan whom I used to know.”

About Varun, Govinda had added, “I do not think his son will ever do 17 films with him, because he is, after all, David Dhawan’s son. He is educated. I never realized the meaning of doing 17 films with a director. It was Sanjay Dutt who told me to give work to a fellow Punjabi (David Dhawan). I used to give work to fellow Punjabis at that time. I liked David and did many hit films with him. I did not even treat my relatives so well as I treated him. Even with my brother, who is a director, I did not do 17 films.”

About comparisons between Varun and Govinda, David had told Asian Age, “Govinda and Karisma created magic on screen. No one can equal them. No one should even try. Varun and Sara are in a completely different zone, free of the burden of trying to be like their predecessors.”