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| Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan in Kaala Pathar - the final straw. |
Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan do not see eye to eye - their discomfort nurtured over the decades refuses to thaw.
In his new biography, Anything but Khamosh (Om Books International), Shatrughan Sinha reveals what went wrong between them.
Ironically, both of them started together in Bollywood, with Shatrughan Sinha being a little senior to Amitabh Bachchan.
They were great friends, moved in the same circle which also boasted of Mehmood's brother Anwar Ali, Anil Dhawan, Asrani and Subhash Ghai.
Shatrughan Sinha would recommend Amitabh Bachchan to his director friends and both of them together delivered hits such as Naseeb, Shaan, Dostana and Kaala Patthar.
As Amitabh Bachchan grew in towering stature, Shatrughan Sinha was one of the few actors, who held on his own,. He never let Amitabh Bachchan intimidate him and could deliver his signature performance with bluster.
“The problem was the applause I was getting for my performances... Amitabh could see the response I was getting. That’s why he didn’t want me in some of his films,” says in an excerpt of the biography published by The Outlook.
By the time Kaala Patthar, happened the duo had reached break point.
"On the sets, the chair next to Amitabh Bachchan would not be offered to me, nor would his umbrella be ever trained to cover any of us," says Shatrughan Sinha.
Then Amitabh Bachchan also tried to upstage Shatrughan Sinha in the movie.
The script held that the pre-interval clash between the two would be an equal fight that ends in Shashi Kapoor separating the two. An even fight was required as Shatrughan Sinha continues to challenge Amitabh Bachchan even after that scene.
But during shooting Shatrughan Sinha found that he was getting thrashed by Amitabh Bachchan, who had reportedly fixed the scene through fight master Shetty.
Shatrughan Sinha protested, put his foot down and stalled the shooting for a few hours till the issue was resolved, but thoroughly irking Amitabh Bachchan.
There was no turning back after that.
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| Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan in Kaala Pathar - the final straw. |