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Angry Young Men: Did you know Dev Anand rejected Zanjeer because he didn't have songs? Jaya Bachchan signed due to Amitabh Bachchan
Late actor Dev Anand refused to act in the 1973 film Zanjeer, written by Salim-Javed, because it didn't have songs for him. Read on to know why Amitabh Bachchan did it.
The much-awaited docu-series Angry Young Men is released on Amazon Prime Video today, i.e. August 20, 2024. The series that sheds light on the glorious journey of the iconic writer duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, popularly known as Salim-Javed, reveals how every star, including Dev Anand, rejected their iconic film Zanjeer. It also revealed how Amitabh Bachchan did the movie because he was going through a rough phase and didn't have many options. Jaya Bachchan agreed because she could spend more time with Big B. However, when the film was released, it had a huge impact.
Talking about how Dev Anand refused to be a part of Zanjeer, Sachin Pilgaonkar revealed that since the character Vijay didn't have even one song in the film, the late actor refused to do it because he thought the audience would not accept him without songs. Javed Akhtar praised director Prakash Mehra, who turned producer with the film, for not changing the script even when most actors and actresses rejected it. "We became famous only after Zanjeer. He remained loyal to the script. It is easier said than done, but one needs guts to do it," said Akhtar.
Speaking about Zanjeer, Salim Khan said that a new hero stormed into the Hindi film industry who doesn't sing songs, doesn't do romance, and doesn't break into comedy. "Bakwaas (nonsense) nahi karta hai," he quoted while adding that other characters were doing all that but not the hero.
Javed Akhtar continued that they intended to be honest with the character without pushing it according to the needs of the plot. "Then integrity grows into your character, and you can give it authenticity and a third dimension," he said. Akhtar added that if Amitabh Bachchan had been made to sing 2-3 songs in Zanjeer, he wouldn't be remembered as an 'Angry Young Man' today.
While Amitabh Bachchan did the film because he didn't have enough options, Jaya Bachchan agreed to do it because of his presence and also because she was forced by Salim-Javed. The veteran actress who played the female lead in the film revealed that Salim-Javed forced her to act in Zanjeer even though she didn't want to do it because it was "male-centric."
She went on to share that another reason for her being a part of Zanjeer was that she'd get to "spend some time" with Amitabh Bachchan, who was her fiance at that time. Interestingly, Zanjeer was released on May 11, 1973, and less than a month after that, both Big B and Jaya Bachchan got married to each other on June 3, 1973.
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