Destiny And Amitabh Bachchan | Part 1 | Cine Talk

Sujoy: Hey Ali… I happened to see this wonderful movie called Saat Hindustani about two-three months ago. Seeing a lanky Amitabh Bachchan was quite a pleasure. I wondered how he survived and reached these heights. Fate was definitely a big factor. He suffered many setbacks, was ruthlessly grounded but every time he rose like a phoenix. You remember Zanjeer? That role was first offered to Raaj Kumar and then to Dev Anand. Finally, it went to him. Destiny…

Ali: Yeah destiny is a funny thing. He happened to get Zanjeer due to Bombay To Goa!! Although he was protagonist in the movie (BTG, he had a small role. He has a fight scene, in the movie, which actor Om Prakash (of Daddu from Namak Halal) got impressed with. He told director of Zanjeer, ’there is this new lad, who has come in Bombay to Goa; you might want to look at his work ’. And pretty soon he was in for role of a lifetime. But if you notice in Zanjeer there were strong artistes like Pran, Om Prakash and Ajit (of ‘sara sheher mujhe Lion ke naaam se jaanta hai’) to support the film, to pull in the crowd if this young lad is not able to pull it off by himself. But that was not to be, AB pulled off Zanjeer in style.

Sujoy: Pull off is an understatement. BO went crazy that time. But Zanjeer was just the second step after a humble Anand. Anand and Parwana gave him recognition. Abhimaan, Saudagar and Namak Haraam helped him strengthening his feet in bollywood but he was still trailing behind Rajesh Khanna who was the king. In1975, 3 movies came and changed his life forever. Chupke Chupke, Deewar and Sholay. While Sholay went on to become one of the highest grosser ever in India, I think, Deewar was the movie which cemented his image of ‘Angry Young Man’. His portrayal of coolie turned criminal, Vijay, is legendary. The character was sculpted on real life smuggler Haji Mastan. You know, Navin Nischol who was the lead actor of Parwana rejected the role of Ravi (later played by Shashi Kapoor) allegedly saying that he cannot play second lead to a second grade actor (referring to BigB; Nischol was considered to be next Rajesh Khanna that time and BigB was still struggling with average successes). What a miss… Both Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan had a role of their life in this movie.

*** Based on conversations between Sujoy And Ali. ***