Amitabh Bachchan was thrown out of this 1974 film opposite Rekha, was replaced overnight despite shooting for a month, its..

Amitabh Bachchan is such a megastar that his fans wait for his appearance on the silver screen for months on end, even if it is for a cameo in a film. However, there was a time when his career was not shaping up as he had expected, and filmmakers were not as keen on casting him. Despite many films being snatched away from him, Amitabh Bachchan did not give up, putting his focus on success. 

56 years ago, Amitabh Bachchan was just starting to write the story of his success. He was relatively new in the industry and was struggling to find triumph. Amitabh Bachchan’s first film Saat Hindustani was released in 1969 but it did not perform as expected at the box office. 

Amitabh Bachchan’s breakthrough in the industry came after the release of Prakash Mehra’s film Zanjeer (1973) where he played the role of Inspector Vijay Khanna. Big B’s career took off rapidly after the film was released.

Though Zanjeer was a box office success, Amitabh Bachchan still struggled to get meaty roles in films. During this time, he was offered a role to romance none other than Rekha, for the very first time. However, the film was snatched away from him midway. 

Amitabh Bachchan became an overnight star after the release of Zanjeer. After this, he was offered a film in 1974 opposite Rekha by Kundan Kumar. A song and many special scenes of the film had also been shot with both the actors, who were excited to collaborate for the first time, but unexpectedly Amitabh Bachchan was thrown out of the film without informing him.

The film was Duniya Ka Mela which was eventually released in 1974. Though it was supposed to be Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha’s first film together, things did not pan out. The duo’s first film together was released in 1976 titled Do Anjaane.

As per a report in IMDb, Firoz Khan’s brother Sanjay Khan was the one who replaced Amitabh Bachchan in Duniya Ka Mela. Kundan Kumar removed Amitabh Bachchan midway as several big distributors felt that the film would not work with him in the lead role. 

Kundan Kumar was adamant on casting Amitabh Bachchan but when the distributors threatened him and said that if he did not agree with their request, they would not allow his film to be released in any theatre, Kundan Kumar obliged. 

 

Sanjay Khan was immediately made the lead actor of the film opposite Rekha. But, Duniya Ka Mela flopped after its release. Audiences completely rejected the pairing of Rekha and Sanjay Khan.

 

After Duniya Ka Mela flopped, Amitabh Bachchan reportedly said in an interview, “I was struggling with flop films. I am grateful that they thought of me for the film. My place was taken by Mr Sanjay Khan, who was a big star at that time.”

READ | After Madhya Pradesh, Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava declared tax-free in THIS Indian state, its not Maharashtra