Vidhu kept Shabana hidden in an apartment before Kareeb

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has given blockbuster movies to the audience. Siddharth P Malhotra, who assisted Chopra on the set of '

Kareeb

', recalled how particular the director was with his vision. In 'Kareeb', which starred Bobby Deol, Chopra wanted

Shabana

to live in an apartment in Bandra, away from the public eye, so he could introduce her to the world in his own way. Malhotra was in charge of keeping Shabana away from the public during that time.
While speaking to Siddharth Kannan, he shared that Vinod Chopra had entrusted him with the responsibility of looking after Shabana, who was to stay in an apartment in Bandra until her big reveal. Chopra wanted her performance in Kareeb to reflect Madhubala’s charm and had her study tapes of the legendary actress’s films.
Shabana, later known as Neha in 'Kareeb', revealed in a 2008 Rediff interview that she was forced to change her name, against her wishes. In the same interview, she also said that she didn’t want to act in films initially. She said that producers saw her on television and coaxed her to do the film and chased her. They spoke to her parents and got their approval.
Malhotra recounted that Vidhu Vinod was so focused on capturing the perfect shot during the "magic hour" for 'Kareeb' that he continued filming even when Bobby noticed a water snake nearby. During the underwater shoot for the song 'Chori Chori,' Bobby alerted Chopra to the snake, but Chopra didn't stop filming because they were losing the desired natural light. Once the shot was complete, Bobby quickly moved away. In a 2001 interview, Deol also mentioned that Chopra gave Shabana a "tough time" and would "yell at her constantly," but Deol felt he was treated differently due to his father's fame.