Pran recommended Dev Anand to Prakash Mehra as hero  for Zanzeer 


Dev Anand declined Zanzeer as it did not go well with his established image 


By Rajesh Ahuja 


Much has been said about how the action thriller Zanzeer,  which turned Amitabh Bachchan into an overnight star in Bollywood and established him as the 'angry young man' in Hindi films,  was first offered to the debonair star Dev Anand, among other actors. 


However not many may be aware that it was the legendary Pran who recommended Dev Anand's name to Prakash Mehra as hero  for Zanzeer. Eventually,  it was Dev Anand's refusal to do the film that paved the entry of Amitabh Bachchan in the film. 


The fact was revealed in the biography of legendary villain Pran, penned by Bunny Reuben. 


Pran suggested to Prakash Mehra Dev Anand as hero for Zanzeer 




Writing in the biography, titled 'and Pran', Bunny Reuben said that Pran, who worked with Dev Anand in nine films during his five decades long career in Hindi films,, suggested to Prakash Mehra that he make Zanzeer with Dev Anand as hero. 


Revealing that Pran and Dev Anand were considered a 'hit' combination in Bollywood,  having starred together in hits like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Johnny Mera Naam, Joshila and Des Pardes, the writer says, 'at one point in this 'hit' relationship, Pran even suggested to Prakash Mehra that he make Zanzeer with is friend Dev Anand as hero.' 


However,  Dev Anand declined the offer as the role of an 'angry young man ' in Zanzeer would go against his established image in the film industry. In doing so,  he lost out on the iconic role that skyrocketed Amitabh Bachchan to fame as the new 'angry young man ' of Bollywood. 


'It appears that Dev was not ready to experiment with his established image and lost out on a role that ultimately sent Amitabh Bachchan's till then struggling career zooming to incredible heights, 'the writer says. 


Amitabh Bachchan, who made his Hindi film debut in Khwaja Ahmed Abbas's 'Saat Hindustani', starred in several box office failures like 'Parwana', Reshma Aur Shera', 'Ek Nazar', 'Raste Ka Pathar' , 'Sanjog' and Guddi', till Prakash Mehra's Zanzeer skyrocketed him to fame as the new 'angry young man ' of Bollywood. 


However,  Zanzeer, which was written by the legendary screenplay writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, was turned down by several actors as it went against the "romantic hero" image dominant in the industry at the time.


Also Read 


When Rishi Kapoor turned down offer to do a guest appearance in Koi Mil Gaya 


When RD Burman sought Rishi Kapoor's help to get work in his films in 90s 




Tina Munim reflected an elfin charm on screen that was refreshingly modern for its time: Rishi Kapoor 






When Rishi Kapoor rejected a role offered by Salim Javed in Trishul 



Amrish Puri was offered villain's role in Raj Kapoor's Ram Teri Ganga Maili 



Historical web series Freedom at Midnight streaming on Sony Liv from November 15 



Rishi Kapoor had some reservations about doing Ramesh Sippy's Saagar 



When Jeetendra refused the offer to do Tinnu Anand's Shahenshah 



Nafisa Ali, not Padmini Kolhapure, was the first choice for Nasir Hussain's Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai
























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 Nafisa Ali, not Padmini Kolhapure, was the first choice for Nasir Hussain's Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai  By Rajesh Ahuja   Padmini Kolhapure may today seem the obvious choice for Nasir Hussain's musical thriller Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai with her natural beauty and vivacity but not many are aware that she was not the original choice for the film.  The original choice for the female lead in Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai , which created a buzz for its chartbuster music,  was former Miss India Nafisa Ali, it has been revealed in Rishi Kapoor's autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor uncensored.  Writing in his autobiography,  Rishi Kapoor,  who was the male lead for the film, said, 'around the same time as Junoon (which was the debut cinematic venture of Nafisa Ali) , Nasir Hussain was drawing up a contract with Nafisa Ali to work with me in Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai . '  Opposition by Nafisa Ali's father,  however,  put a spanner in her casting for ...
Read more
Image
 When Jeetendra refused the offer to do Tinnu Anand's Shahenshah  Jeetendra was offered the film after Amitabh's accident on sets of Coolie  By Rajesh Ahuja  Shahenshah ,  a film which marked the comeback of megastar Amitabh Bachchan after a brief gap due to his foray in politics,  was also offered to Bollywood actor Jeetendra.  In his autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor uncensored , Rishi Kapoor revealed that after Amitabh's accident on the sets of Coolie ,  Tinnu Anand and his brother Bittu Anand had approached Jeetendra, who was then a  top ranking star, for Coolie.  Writing in his autobiography, Rishi Kapoor said, 'many years ago, I remember, when my closest buddy Bittu Anand fell on hard times and needed to be bailed out,  I did a couple of films for him but they were all flops.  Jeetendra was a very big star at the start of the 1980s, getting second billing after Amitabh Bachchan.  Jeetendra was offered the l...
Read more
Image
Fans slept on pavements outside Maratha Mandir in hope of buying first show tickets for Mughal e Azam Saira Banu talks of aura and splendor of premiere of K Asif's magnum opus Mughal e Azam By Rajesh Ahuja Having been a part of the huge legion of fans who were witness to the grand spectacle that accompanied the release of K Asif's classic saga Mughal e Azam ,  Bollywood actress Saira Banu recalls how hundreds of fans slept on the pavements outside the Grand Maratha Mandir the night before the release of the film in the hope of getting hands at the tickets to the first show of the magnum opus. In a post on Instagram,  Saira Banu,  for whom attending the premiere of the film was an opportunity to meet her heartthrob and the darling of millions Dilip Kumar and propose to him, said ,'when we talk about Mughal-e-Azam ,  there is the vision of this great historical epic which took years for Mr K Asif' to put together into enthralling epic full of romance and spectacle su...
Read more