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The docu-series ‘Angry Young Men’ which explores the incredible journey of the famous writer duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, had its grand OTT debut today. The series that is a treasure trove of Bollywood trivia, revealed that ‘Zanjeer,’ one of their most famous films, was initially rejected by stars like Dev Anand.
Sachin Pilgaonkar shared that Dev Anand refused to be a part of Zanjeer because the character Vijay didn’t have any songs, and the actor believed that the audience wouldn’t accept him without songs.
Javed, on the other hand, praised director Prakash Mehra, for sticking to the original script, even when many actors and actresses rejected the project.
“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.
Salim Khan, speaking about Zanjeer, said that the film introduced a new kind of hero to the Hindi film industry—one who doesn’t sing, doesn’t do romance, and doesn’t break into comedy. Salim Khan added, “Bakwaas (nonsense) nahi karta hai,” emphasizing that while other characters in the film were engaging in those typical activities, the hero did not.
Javed Akhtar added that they wanted to stay true to the character and didn’t try to force the character to fit the needs of the plot.
“Then integrity grows into your character, and you can give it authenticity and a third dimension,” he said.
Javed mentioned that if Amitabh had been made to sing 2-3 songs in ‘Zanjeer,’ he wouldn’t be remembered as the ‘Angry Young Man’ today.
Bachchan took on the role in Zanjeer because he didn’t have many options at the time, while Jaya agreed to do the film partly because of his involvement and partly because Salim-Javed insisted. Jaya, who played the female lead, revealed that she was initially reluctant to do the film because it was “male-centric”.
Jaya also shared that another reason she agreed to be part of Zanjeer was that it allowed her to “spend some time” with Amitabh, who was her fiancé at the time. Interestingly, Zanjeer was released on May 11, 1973, and less than a month later, on June 3, 1973, Amitabh and Jaya got married.
Sachin Pilgaonkar shared that Dev Anand refused to be a part of Zanjeer because the character Vijay didn’t have any songs, and the actor believed that the audience wouldn’t accept him without songs.
Javed, on the other hand, praised director Prakash Mehra, for sticking to the original script, even when many actors and actresses rejected the project.
“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.
Salim Khan, speaking about Zanjeer, said that the film introduced a new kind of hero to the Hindi film industry—one who doesn’t sing, doesn’t do romance, and doesn’t break into comedy. Salim Khan added, “Bakwaas (nonsense) nahi karta hai,” emphasizing that while other characters in the film were engaging in those typical activities, the hero did not.
Javed Akhtar added that they wanted to stay true to the character and didn’t try to force the character to fit the needs of the plot.
“Then integrity grows into your character, and you can give it authenticity and a third dimension,” he said.
Javed mentioned that if Amitabh had been made to sing 2-3 songs in ‘Zanjeer,’ he wouldn’t be remembered as the ‘Angry Young Man’ today.
Bachchan took on the role in Zanjeer because he didn’t have many options at the time, while Jaya agreed to do the film partly because of his involvement and partly because Salim-Javed insisted. Jaya, who played the female lead, revealed that she was initially reluctant to do the film because it was “male-centric”.
Jaya also shared that another reason she agreed to be part of Zanjeer was that it allowed her to “spend some time” with Amitabh, who was her fiancé at the time. Interestingly, Zanjeer was released on May 11, 1973, and less than a month later, on June 3, 1973, Amitabh and Jaya got married.
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