'Meri laash dekhoge': Dharmendra refused this film after his sister's emotional vow, it became blockbuster, changed life of...

In the early 1970s, Amitabh Bachchan had seen several flops in his career. The 1973 action crime drama Zanjeer was his last hope as he had decided to leave Mumbai and go back to his hometown Allahabad (now known as Prayagraj). The film, written by the iconic screenwriting duo Salim-Javed, eventually became a blockbuster, established Amitabh's image as the Angry Young Man, and changed his life as he became one of the biggest superstars in the world cinema. But before Big B was signed for Prakash Mehra directorial, several superstars including Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Dev Anand had rejected Zanjeer. 

In a recent interview, Bobby Deol shared why Dharmendra had to refuse the 1973 film due to an emotional vow given by his cousin sister. Speaking to Instant Bollywood, the Animal actor shared, "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 laash dekhoge (Swear on me, if you do this film, you’ll only see my dead body)'. So my father had to give up on Zanjeer."

Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, Zanjeer also starred Jaya Bachchan, Pran, Ajit Khan, Bindu, and Iftekhar. Made in Rs 90 lakh, the film earned Rs 6 crore gross in India and Rs 11 crore gross from Soviet Union, taking its worldwide gross earnings to Rs 17.46 crore. Just a few days after the film released on May 11, Amitabh and Jaya tied the knot with each other on June 3 in Bombay, now Mumbai. The couple starred together in famous movies such as  Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke, Mili, and the cult classic Sholay.

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