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Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini-starrer Baghban released 21 years ago and was a huge hit at the time. The story of an ageing couple who decides to separate to spend time with their ungrateful children struck a chord with the masses and proved to be an unusual hit as films with veteran stars in lead roles weren’t seen as commercially viable in those days. But, the film was first offered to Dilip Kumar back in the 1970s.
In an earlier chat with Rediff, Baghban director Ravi Chopra, who passed away in 2014, said that his father, late filmmaker BR Chopra discussed the film with Dilip Kumar many decades ago. He shared that when he was shooting for his debut film Zameer with Bachchan and Saira Banu, Dilip had loaned them his house’s garden for one of the shoots. “During the shooting, Dad and Dilip uncle were sitting and chatting. That’s when he narrated the script to Dilip uncle, who loved it. But Dad was busy with other films and Dilip uncle wanted to start another film first.”
Ravi’s wife Renu Chopra later shared that the film was to be made with Dilip Kumar and Rakhee, with BR Chopra directing it but fate had other plans. “My father-in-law was supposed to make that film with Dilip Kumar and Rakhee, but she opted out and later he fell ill. It never got made,” she told The Times of India in 2021. She recalled that Ravi had invited Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu for the muhurat of the film but Dilip Kumar wasn’t well at the time so he could not attend the function. She shared that when they went to invite the veteran actor, Saira remembered the story of the film in great detail as “she was impressed with the romance of the elderly couple.”
Achala Nagar, who co-wrote the dialogues and the screenplay of the film, said that Dilip Kumar didn’t want to do the film as many of his co-stars like Nargis and Meena Kumari were no more, and Rakhee too, had taken a break from films. She told PTI, “When BR Chopra approached Kumar for the role, he had said that neither Nargis, nor Meena Kumari was alive… even Raakhee had stopped working in films. He rejected the role because he believed that no contemporary actress was suitable to play the role opposite him.” Dilip Kumar and Rakhee played husband and wife in Shakti.
Baghban also starred Salman Khan, Mahima Chaudhry, Samir Soni, Divya Dutta among others.
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