Basically
Don
Was
Made
To
Help
A
Friend
Financially
Chandra
was
the
long-time
assistant
director
of
Manoj
Kumar
and
became
friends
with
Bachchan
and
Zeenat
during
the
shooting
of
"Roti
Kapda
Aur
Makaan".
He
also
developed
a
close
bond
with
the
cinematographer
of
the
film,
Nariman
Irani,
whom
they
fondly
called
'Bawa'.
In
1972,
Irani
produced
Sunil
Dutt-Waheeda
Rehman
starrer
Zindagi
Zindagi,
but
the
film
bombed
and
Irani
found
himself
in
debt.
"Because
we
all
were
working
together
Amitabh,
Zeenat
and
Pran
saab
-
we
were
friends.
We
decided
to
make
a
film
for
Bawa
to
help
him
come
out
of
the
financial
mess.
Even
Manoj
ji
suggested
the
same.
But
we
didn't
have
a
script," Chandra
says.
Here's
How
Salman's
Dad
Salim
Khan
Came
Into
The
Picture
As
luck
would
have
it,
Irani's
wife
was
Waheeda's hairdresser and
knew writer Salim
Khan.
"We
asked
her
to
put
in
a
word
for
us.
When
we
met
Salim,
he
didn't
have
a
script
ready
but
told
us,
'There
is
one
subject
which
no
one
understands'.
In
the
'70s,
we
had
'thakurs'
and
no
one
had
heard
the
word
'Don'.
Many
Superstars
Rejected
The
Film
"Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Dev
Anand had
refused
the
film.
But
we
said,
'We
don't
care,
we
just
want
'Salim-Javed'
written
on
the
posters'.
It
was
a
ready
script
and
we
took
it
immediately.
It
didn't
even
have
a
title.
Everyone
in
the
industry
called
it
'Don waali
script'," Chandra
recalls.
First
Day
Of
Shoot
The
first
day
of
the
film
was
to
begin
with
the
shooting
of
"Yeh
Mera
Dil Pyaar
Ka
Deewana"
but
they
did
not
have
enough
money,
so
Chandra
took
Rs
40,000
cash
from
his
sister,
singer
Kamal
Barot,
and
the
set
was
created.
"There
was
a
scene
in
Shah
Rukh
Khan's
'Don' remake,
where
he
jumps
off
a
plane.
That
single
shot's
budget
was
our
entire
films
budget
-
nearly
84
lakhs,"
Chandra
quips.
The
Story
Behind
The
Song
'Khaike
Paan
Banaraswala'
It
was
not
just
Helen's
"Yeh
Mera
Dil" which
became
popular,
Bachchan's
"Khaike
Pan
Banaraswala"
also
became
a
talking
point
of
the
film.
The
song
was
added
after
the
film
was
complete
and
Manoj
Kumar
had
a
role
in
getting
the
song
included
the
last
moment.
"Manoj
ji
saw
the
film
and
he
was
angry.
He
said,
'Second
half
of
the
film
is
so
tight,
there
is
no
loo
break!
Please
add
a
song
so
that
people
can
go
to
the
washroom'."
Big
B
Was
Limping
In
The
Song
'Khaike
Paan
Banaraswala'
Javed
was
initially
reluctant
about
making
changes
in
the
script
but
Chandra
cracked
an
idea
during
a
music
session
with
composer
duo
Kalyanji-Anandji
and
lyricist
Anjaan.
Anjaan
said
everytime
he
used
the
words
'Banaras'
and
'Ganga',
the
songs
worked.
Chandra
then
spoke
to
Javed
and
they
decided
to
set
up
the
sequence
as
a
Banarasi
boy
who
eats
'paan'
and
makes
merry.
Chandra
says
Bachchan
had
injured
his
foot
while
shooting
for
"Laawaris".
"So
if
you
watch
'Khaike...',
he
is
limping.
It
is
not
choreography.
He
was
actually
injured!" he
adds.
Big
B
Ate
30-40
Paans
For
'Don'
For
Vijay's
introductory
song,
"Yeh
Hai
Bombay
Nagaria",
Chandra
was
inspired
by
Sanjeev
Kumar's
"Naya
Din
Nayi
Raat" look
and
decided
to
make
the
character
a
lungi-clad
paan-chewing
singer.
"Anand
ji
used
to
eat
a
lot
of
'paan'
and
by
the
end
of
the
day,
his
lips
would
have
a
red
layer,
a
look
which
was
not
possible
to
create
with
make-up.
So,
we
ordered
30-40
paans
and
made
Amitabh
chew
them
till
we
got
the
look
right.
"We
got
our
scene,
but
the
next
day
he
could
not
speak
as
his
tongue
was
cut
because
of
the
'chuna'
in
the
'paan'.
So
the
next
day
we
ordered
'paan'
without
'chuna'
in
it.
Though
Amitabh
still
scolded
me!"