Subhash Ghai recalls how he used ‘Ilu Ilu’ as code to greet his wife

Mumbai, Nov 27  Filmmaker Subhash Ghai has shared how he used to say ‘Ilu Ilu’ to his wife Mukta Ghai whenever he visited her place.

“Whenever I used to go to her place and meet her family members, I always used to greet everyone. While leaving the house, I used to turn back and wave hands to all her family members and say bye, but to Mukta, I used to always say ‘Ilu Ilu’… It was our code word,” Ghai said.

Later, a song with the same words became part of his 1991 film ‘Saudagar’ starring Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar along with Manisha Koirala and Vivek Mushran.

Subhash Ghai is coming along with his daughter Meghna Ghai on the singing reality show ‘Indian Idol 13’.

In a number of his films, his heroines have used a black scarf. Talking about his preference for this, the director said: “I feel the real beauty of a woman lies in the traditional attire ‘ghunghat’. It is true if you see all the women in a marriage they look like princess.

“I think the feelings of a girl should be expressed through her eyes, so for that, I give all the actresses a black scarf. I can share a photo also if you want… Every heroine — Tina (Munim, now Ambani), Manisha (Koirala), Madhuri (Dixit) or Aishwariya (Rai) — their eyes express a lot in all the films.”

Judged by Himesh Reshammiya, Neha Kakkar, and Vishal Dadlani, ‘Indian Idol 13’ airs on Sony Entertainment Television.