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| In the book Written by Salim-Javed, Diptakirti Chaudhuri tells the fascinating story of the hunt for the Zanjeer hero. |
April 17, 2016, NewsCrunch
The lead role in Zanjeer, the epoch making film, which captured discontent of the time and gave birth to an angry young man, Amitabh Bachchan, was rejected by as many as four top heroes of the time.
Zanjeer script was written by Salim-Javed and was among the first hits, the duo delivered.
It was directed and produced by Prakash Mehra, who struggled to find a suitable hero for the film. Salim-Javed were convinced about a newbie, Amitabh Bachchan, whose reputation for delivering flops scared Mehra. .
In the book Written by Salim-Javed, Diptakirti Chaudhuri tells the fascinating story of the hunt for the Zanjeer hero.
The role was first offered to Dharmendra, who agreed. But his brother Ajit, who was to co-produce the film, fell out with Mehra and Dharmendra backed off.
Dilip Kumar was the next choice. But he thought the role was one-dimensional as the hero would have to remain sullen through out the movie. There was no scope for performance, he felt and rejected.
Prakash Mehra then went to Dev Anand, overriding opposition from Salim-Javed, who thought he would be a serious misfit in the role. They were right and Dev Anand asked for a few romantic songs in the movie where he could indulge in his antics. He was off.
It was Raj Kumar next, who had already impressed in the role of an inspector. But he rejected.
The story goes that the eccentric actor did not like the smell of the hair oil Mehra was using and dreaded spending long hours with him. So, he put an impossible condition -- shoot the film in Madras – instead of saying no.
Salim-Javed were totally sold on Amitabh Bachchan as they thought only he could bring their Vijay alive. But Mehra would not change his mind.
By that time Pran had been selected for the Sher Khan’s role. His son shared a flat with Ajitabh Bachchan in Madras, who took him to watch an Amitabh film, From Bombay to Goa.
Impressed, Pran's son recommended Amitabh Bachchan to his father, who also joined Salim-Javed in putting pressure on Mehra, who finally gave in.
Amitabh Bachchan stepped in to play Inspector Vijay and new era in Bollywood begun.