Zanjeer
Was
Originally
Supposed
To
Star
Dharmendra
In
an
interview
with
Rediff,
Prakash
Mehra
had
confessed,
"Dharmendra
had
already
been
paid
the
initial
amount
for
the
film
and
he
was
to
play
the
hero.
But
he
told
me
that
he
wanted
to
start
a
film
for
his
own
brother
and
would
shoot
for
Zanjeer
after
half
that
film
was
over.
But,
I
had
decided
to
finish
the
film
within
six
months
with
Dharmendra
because
he
was
the
top
actor
then.
I
told
him
not
to
delay
things,
but
Dharam
said
he
was
helpless.
I
told
him
I
had
already
announced
that
he
would
be
the
hero,
Mumtaz
the
heroine.
He
still
told
me
to
wait.
But
I
didn't
find
it
fun
waiting
so
long.
One
fine
day,
both
of
us
amicably
settled
the
matter
with
Dharam
agreeing
not
to
work
in
the
film
because
of
his
busy
schedule."
His
Next
Choice
Was
Dev
Anand
"I
had
seen
Dev's
Kaala
Pani
and
liked
it.
I
thought
a
change
of
image
could
make
this
film
a
landmark
film
for
him.
But
the
only
thing
which
bugged
Dev
Anand
was
that
there
were
no
songs
in
the
film.
He
told
me
to
put
three-four
songs
in
the
film.
But
I
said
I
wouldn't
do
that.
He
then
offered
me
whatever
money
I
wanted
for
the
film
if
I
did
it
for
Nav
Ketan,
his
home
production.
I
refused.
And
so
even
he
was
ruled
out
as
a
hero."
Things
Didn't
Work
With
Raaj
Kumar
As
Well
"I
went
to
Raaj
Kumar
who
was
already
working
with
Mumtaz
for
a
film
in
Madras.
He
liked
the
film.
He
felt
it
was
a
terrific
subject,
and
that
he
would
like
to
shoot
from
the
very
next
day.
But
he
wanted
me
to
go
south
to
shoot
the
film
since
he
had
given
bulk
dates
to
a
producer
in
Madras.
I
told
him
the
film
was
based
in
Bombay
and
that
there
was
no
way
that
I
could
shoot
in
Madras.
He
told
me
to
reconsider
my
decision.
I
didn't."
The
Entry
Of
Amitabh
Bachchan
In
Mehra's
Life
"Pran,
who
played
the
Pathan's
role
in
the
film,
told
me
to
consider
Amitabh
Bachchan.
He
told
me
to
see
Amitabh's
Bombay
to
Goa.
After
seeing
the
film,
my
gut
feeling
said
that
he
was
a
future
star.
I
was
especially
impressed
by
the
fight
scene
between
Amitabh
and
Shatrughan
Sinha
in
the
film.
I
selected
Amitabh
because
of
the
emotions
his
eyes
could
generate.
I
thought
I
should
give
this
man
a
break
in
my
film
even
though
his
earlier
films
had
flopped."
People
Ridiculed
Prakash
Mehra
For
Casting
Amitabh
Bachchan
"People
laughed
at
me
because
they
felt
that
after
making
three
jubilees,
Prakash
has
gone
senile.
How
can
this
man
pair
Amitabh
and
Jaya
together?
They
used
to
say,
'Prakash
is
making
an
art
film.' I
think
in
making
Zanjeer
or
any
other
film,
the
film-maker's
convictions
are
very
important.
I
had
other
problems
--
there
were
no
financiers
and
the
distributors
ran
away.
They
laughed
at
me,
'Who
is
this
tall
idiot
hero?"
How
Mumtaz's
Loss
Turned
To
Be
Jaya
Bachchan's
Gain
"Mumtaz,
decided
to
get
married
and
quit
acting.
I
think
one
reason
she
left
could
be
the
flopping
of
Bande
Haath
in
which
she
had
acted
opposite
Amitabh.
I
guess
she
did
not
wanted
to
take
one
more
risk
with
this
film.
Luckily,
I
was
working
with
Jaya
Bhaduri
on
another
film.
Amitabh
told
Jaya
that
no
heroine
was
willing
to
work
with
him.
And
she
told
him
that
I
had
approached
her
to
play
the
heroine
in
the
film." And
the
rest
is
history.
Amitabh
Bachchan
Used
To
Cry
"Amitabh
used
to
cry.
He
used
to
feel
very
put
off.
He
used
to
call
me
"Sir" in
those
days.I
told
him
I
wasn't
his
teacher
or
professor,
I
am
your
director.
He
then
started
calling
me
lalla.
In
UP,
one
calls
his
brother
as
lalla.
He
used
to
complain,
'Lalla,
I
don't
know
what
will
happen
to
my
future
after
this
film.'
I
used
to
tell
him
not
to
be
selfish
and
think
about
me.
Because
it
was
I
who
stood
to
lose
every
pie
if
something
went
wrong."
Interestingly,
Amitabh
Bachchan's
Zanjeer
&
Rishi
Kapoor's
Bobby
Released
On
The
Same
Day
Mehra
was
quoted
as
saying,
"And,
believe
me,
I
was
not
worried
about
Zanjeer
though
Raj
Kapoor
was
shocked
by
Zanjeer's
success
despite
there
being
only
three
songs
in
the
film.
Someone
told
me
that
Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
the
music
directors
of
Bobby,
had
bought
out
all
the
cassettes
of
Zanjeer
to
stop
the
three
songs
by
Kalyanji-Anandji
from
flooding
the
market.
I
used
to
telephone
HMV
and
seek
the
latest
update
on
the
cassette
stocks."
When
Zanjeer
Failed
To
Do
Business
In
Bombay
For
The
First
4
Days,
Big
B
Got
Fever
"Though
the
film
clicked
in
Calcutta,
it
did
not
do
well
for
the
first
four
days
in
Bombay.
I
thought
then
that
the
film
would
flop.
The
bad
time
the
film
was
having
affected
Amitabh
so
badly
that
he
went
down
with
a
fever."
And
Then
Something
Unbelievable
Happened...
" After
four
days,
when
the
booking
for
the
second
week
began,
I
happened
to
pass
through
Gaiety-Galaxy
theatre
in
Bandra.
There
was
a
huge
rush
at
the
advance
booking
window.
A
five
rupee
ticket
was
being
sold
at
Rs
100.
I
was
shocked.
To
this
day,
I
have
never
seen
such
a
huge
rush
outside
Gaiety-Galaxy.
When
Amitabh
heard
the
news,
it
affected
him
so
much
that
his
fever
worsened
to
104
degrees
centigrade.
He
couldn't
believe
it."