Long before he became the legendary ‘Shahenshah’ of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan faced a string of disappointments that nearly ended his acting journey before it began. With 16 flops behind him, the future superstar was once deemed too risky by producers—so much so that he was replaced in multiple films, including the 1976 thriller Shaque.
Why Bachchan was dropped from Shaque
In a recent interaction, acclaimed director-editor Aruna Raje Patil revealed that Amitabh was originally considered for the lead in Shaque, but was ultimately replaced by Vinod Khanna due to his struggling box office run at the time.Filmmaker Aruna Raje Patil recently reflected on a pivotal casting change during the making of her 1976 film Shaque. Initially, Amitabh Bachchan was set to star opposite Waheeda Rehman. However, due to his then-unfavourable box office track record—marked by 16 consecutive flops—the film’s producer, NB Kamat, was unwilling to move forward with him in the lead role.Faced with the possibility of the film being shelved, the team decided to look for a more bankable star. They eventually approached Vinod Khanna, who was already enjoying commercial success at the time. The actor quickly agreed to take on the role, leading to the replacement of Bachchan just before his breakthrough with Zanjeer in 1973.
Another film replacement
In a past interview with The Filmy Charcha, veteran actor Raza Murad recalled another instance highlighting Amitabh Bachchan’s early struggles in the film industry. He shared that Bachchan was dropped from the film Duniya Ka Mela and replaced by Sanjay Khan due to a series of box office failures.At the time, with 16 flops behind him, distributors reportedly lacked confidence in Bachchan’s ability to draw audiences, believing his presence would hurt the film’s prospects. It wasn’t until Zanjeer turned his fortunes around that his career took a dramatic upward turn, proving that persistence—and timing—can change everything.It was a twist of fate that eventually landed Amitabh Bachchan the lead role in Zanjeer—the film that would redefine his career. As veteran actor Raza Murad recalled, director Prakash Mehra initially approached several top stars of the time, including Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Dev Anand, and Rajkumar, but each declined the offer for various reasons.
Success of Zanjeer
Despite Zanjeer being a hero-centric script, it struggled to find a leading man—until Jaya Bhaduri (later Jaya Bachchan) suggested Amitabh’s name. With no other options left, Mehra took a chance on the struggling actor. That stroke of luck, coupled with Bachchan’s powerful performance, changed the course of Hindi cinema—and earned him the title of Bollywood’s “Angry Young Man.”After the success of Zanjeer, Amitabh Bachchan’s career skyrocketed. He formed a legendary collaboration with writers Salim-Javed, delivering a series of iconic films like Deewaar, Sholay, Kaala Patthar, Trishul, Majboor, Shakti, and Don.
