Amitabh Bachchan Was 'Thrown Out' Of A Film, Replaced By Sanjay Khan: Recalls Raza Murad
Raza Murad said 90% luck drives success in films. He recalled how Amitabh Bachchan was replaced by Sanjay Khan in a movie after 16 flops, before Zanjeer changed it all.
Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer remains one of the most iconic films in Amitabh Bachchan's career to this day. The film marked the second inning of Big B's career after back-to-back 16 flop films. The Salim-Javed written movie gave hope to Bachchan and got him all the success and a string of hits like Deewar, Sholay, among others. While Big B's stardom is what almost everyone wishes for in the industry, Raza Murad believes it was his luck that made him who he is today.
In a recent interview with The Filmy Charcha, Raza Murad claimed that one needs 90% luck to make it big in the industry. While citing Amitabh Bachchan's example, Murad revealed that the former was thrown out of Duniya Ka Mela and shared, 'Amitabh Bachchan was thrown out of Duniya Ka Mela. The makers replaced him with Sanjay Khan. Sixteen of his films flopped. Distributors said nobody will turn up to theatres if he stars in a film. At that time, his luck was not with him. But when the luck was in his favour, everything fell in place."
He explained, 'When Prakash Mehra wanted to make Zanjeer, he went to Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Dev Anand, Rajkumar, and they all refused for some or the other reason. The subject was extremely hero-oriented, yet these superstars rejected it. Nobody knows why, but one can say that luck wanted Amitabh Bachchan to lead the film. When nobody wanted him, and Prakash Mehra had no option, Jaya Bachchan (then Jaya Bhaduri) recommended the director take Amitabh Bachchan — and the rest is history."
Zanjeer marked a major breakthrough not just for Amitabh Bachchan, but also for the legendary writing duo Salim-Javed. The film's iconic character Sher Khan, portrayed by Pran in his signature Pathani look, also left a lasting impact. With punchy lines like 'Yeh police station hai, tumhare baap ka ghar nahin," Zanjeer firmly cemented its place in Bollywood's pop culture legacy.
Zanjeer follows the story of an honest cop Vijay, haunted by his parents' murder and a recurring nightmare. As he battles the crime world, he finds allies in reformed gangster Sher Khan and Mala.
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