Rajesh Khanna leapt at the opportunity to replace a miffed Amitabh Bachchan on Kishore Kumar's last film, didn't charge a rupee

Indian Express

3 days ago

It's nearly impossible to imagine Amitabh Bachchan's iconic songs without the magical voice of Kishore Kumar. Though the legendary singer lent his voice to many leading stars of the era, there was something truly unique about his playback for Bachchan, a match that created cinematic music history. Take 'Dekha Ek Khwab' from Silsila, for example. The way Kishore's voice blends with Bachchan's on-screen presence is nothing short of timeless.
But like many great collaborations, this one, too, experienced turbulence. As with most artistic partnerships, creative differences eventually took their toll, leading to a fallout between the two legends. Now, in a recent interview with Radio Nasha, Kishore Kumar's son, singer Amit Kumar, opened up about what really happened behind the scenes. 'Misunderstandings are a part of human relationships. My father was human, too,' Amit said. 'And Mr Bachchan has been a great actor. We've always had a good relationship with him, but yes, there was a bit of misunderstanding at that time.'
He went on to explain, 'My father was directing Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein, it was his last directorial project, and he felt having a big actor in it would really help. Naturally, we suggested Mr Bachchan's name. But at that time, Amitabh ji was extremely busy. Somewhere during all the back-and-forth, a misunderstanding developed.' According to Amit, the media sensationalised the situation, but things were eventually resolved. 'The media really exaggerated it… you know how the media is. But later, everything got sorted out. Mr Bachchan came home, they hugged it out, the misunderstanding was cleared.'
Also Read | Kishore Kumar refused to sing Amitabh Bachchan's 'Khaike Paan Banaraswala', created a hungama, recalls Sameer: 'Javed Akhtar said song has to be there'
As fate would have it, the role eventually went to another superstar, Rajesh Khanna, who was often portrayed as Amitabh Bachchan's rival. It was Bachchan, after all, who significantly dented Khanna's superstar image during the 1970s. Much has been written about their rift over the years. In the book Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India's First Superstar, Khanna's secretary and associate of 20 years, Prashant Roy, recalled: 'Those days, Kakaji used to be very angry with Amitabh Bachchan. He used to tell his close friends that Hrishikesh Mukherjee was his favourite director, but Amitabh had filled his ears.'
Amit Kumar recalled the moment he offered the film to Khanna, saying: 'I asked him if he would do the role, and he said, 'How dare you ask me that? I'll come stand at Kishore Kumar's door and ask why he didn't call me earlier!'' Amit fondly added that Rajesh Khanna worked on the film without charging a single rupee. 'When my father tried to pay him, he outright refused.'
Interestingly, only a few months ago, lyricist Sameer had shared a light-hearted anecdote that hinted at the friendly bond Kishore Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan shared, despite occasional tensions. Sameer recalled a moment when Kishore expressed his wish to act alongside Amitabh. In his typical witty fashion, Bachchan reportedly replied: 'Dada, main hi ek bacha tha kya barbaad hone ke liye?' (Dada, was I the only fool left to be ruined?)