‘Zanjeer,’ a blockbuster, was shockingly successful. Three Superstars rejected him: You might be astonished to learn that the film that catapulted Amitabh Bachchan to superstardom was previously rejected by three Bollywood heavyweights. Obviously, we’re talking about Amitabh Bachchan’s smash film “Zanjeer.” So come on, let’s learn some intriguing facts about this film that you may not be aware of.
Between 1972 and 1973, Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, and Prakash Mehra were planning to produce a film with little notion that it would go down in Indian cinema history as the birthplace of another celebrity. This picture was called ‘Zanjeer,’ and it was released in theatres on May 11, 1973. It was an immediate box office triumph.
This was the same film that not only saved Amitabh’s failing career but also elevated him from an actor to a superstar, but you might be shocked to learn that Amitabh Bachchan was not the original choice for this role. This film has already gone to three other celebrities of the time, including Dilip Kumar, Raj Kumar, and Dev Anand Saheb.
But Amitabh Bachchan was in luck. That’s why he got this film when all three celebrities refused to do it. According to media accounts, when the film’s director, Prakash Mehra, began preparing to create this film, he delegated the task of selecting the actors to Salim-Javed Saheb.
Salim-Javed wanted to cast a huge celebrity from the period in this film, thus they sought Dilip Kumar first. When he heard Dilip Kumar the story of this film, he refused to perform it since his image among the audience was that of a romantic hero, but the hero’s role in ‘Zanjeer’ was full of rage. After Dilip Kumar declined, Salim-Javed accepted the offer for this project. Raj Kumar also declined to appear in this film. According to media sources, Raj Kumar advised Salim-Javed that this is his narrative and that he should not be the hero in it. Salim-Javed then approached Dev Anand directly. Dev Anand liked the premise and agreed to shoot the picture, but he didn’t have any dates available for the following three years
