‘Tum laash dekhoge…’: Dharmendra once rejected a film that became blockbuster, was replaced by…, the movie is…
In the life of an actor or a filmmaker, it is not necessary that the first wish will follow through. There are hurdles down the road. From rejections, budget issues, casting issues etc. Its not just actors who are always replaced and rejected. Sometimes its is the other way round.
A part and parcel of the industry, sometimes actors reject a film owing to date issues, creative difference of personal issues. For the veteran actor Dharmendra, family was important. He once rejected a film that became an iconic contribution in cinema. The movie was Zanjeer.
Why Dharmendra Rejected A Film?
Dharmendra has two sons from his first wife -Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol- who have carved their own place and built their own stardom. Recently, in an interview with Instant Bollywood, the younger, Bobby Deol shared about his father’ s generosity and why he rejected an iconic movie like ‘Zanjeer’.
He said, “There was a film Satyakam. My father did it for my aunt’s husband. They were facing some financial problems, so my father gave them Rs 25 lakhs. I don’t remember the exact amount, but just imagine—giving Rs 25 lakhs in the ’60s. My dad has always been someone who has taken care of people.”
Bobby further recalled the emotional reason that led Dharmendra to reject Zanjeer and said, “When Zanjeer was offered, Dad wanted to do it. However, humari ek cousin sister thi, aur unki shayad koi problem hogyi thi Prakash Mehra Ji se (we had a cousin sister who apparently had some issues with Prakash Mehra Ji). She came to the house one day and said, aapko meri kasam, agar aapne yeh film ki toh aap meri dead body dekhoge (‘I swear on me, if you do this film, you’ll only see my dead body’). So my father had to give up on Zanjeer.”
Earlier to the revelation by Bobby Deol, lyricist Javed Akhtar has once claimed that after Dharmendra rejected the movie, Amitabh Bachchan became the last option. Directed by Prakash Mehra, Zanjeer became one of the biggest blockbusters of Amitabh Bachchan’s career and earned him the title of the ‘angry young man’. The action-crime film also starred Jaya Bhaduri, Pran, Ajit Khan, and Bindu.
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