Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer was rejected by the biggest Bollywood superstars, and it became a breakthrough film for Amitabh Bachchan.
Every actor dreams of having a film that will advance their career. Sometimes an actor needs that one lucky break, that paved the way to stardom. Today, we will talk about a film that many superstars rejected, but it changed the destiny of a struggling actor forever. A film that was considered 'against the market', broke several norms, and set new benchmarks.
At the time, when Rajesh Khanna was ruling the silver screen as a 'Romantic Superstar' and Dilip Kumar astonished filmgoers as a 'Tragedy King', one actor entered into films and became the 'Angry Young Man' of Bollywood. Yes, we are talking about Amitabh Bachchan, and the movie we mentioned is Zanjeer.
Before Amitabh Bachchan, Zanjeer was rejected by the biggest Bollywood superstars
Zanjeer was written by Salim-Javed, and their script faced rejection from the biggest Bollywood superstars. Zanjeer was offered to Dharmendra, Dev Anand, and even Raaj Kumar. These superstars had doubts about the film, and they were not convinced by the story, the character arc, and the treatment of the narrative.
After Salim-Javed saw rejections from top superstars, Javed remembered an actor who impressed him with his stint in Bombay To Goa. Javed saw a fight sequence in Bombay to Goa where Amitabh was chewing gum throughout the fight as an indicator that he would be the right choice for Zanjeer.
Industry warned Salim-Javed not to make Zanjeer with Amitabh Bachchan
Zanjeer broke many norms, and the initial announcement of the film met with mixed responses from film industry people. Last year, Javed appeared on Indian Idol, and he revealed why people thought Zanjeer would be a big flop. "Yeh ek film hai, his mein hero gaana nahi gaata, koi romantic angle nahi, comedy nahi karta, bada serious hero hai. Yeh film kaisi chalegi." Even Amitabh Bachchan's physical appearance was mocked by a few people, "Itna lamba hero nahi chalega," Javed recalled reactions to Amitabh's casting. However, Prakash Mehra stood by his decision and made Zanjeer with Bachchan in the lead. Released on May 11, 1973, Zanjeer became a blockbuster, and Amitabh became a rising star, the Angry Young Man of Bollywood.
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