Late actor Rajesh Khanna reached a new height of popularity with the release of the film ‘Anand’. He played the role of a sick person opposite Amitabh Bachchan. This movie is our favorite too. But very few people would know that before Rajesh Khanna, veteran actor Dharmendra wanted to do this film.
Dharmendra, who worked with director Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the film Satyakam, revealed that he had heard Anand’s script in flight. And told that he wanted to work in this film. However, when he came to know that Rajesh Khanna had been cast in the film, he also called up Hrishikesh Mukherjee to express his disappointment.
During an episode of The Kapil Sharma Show in 2019, Dharmendra revealed, “Rishida told me a story on a flight, Anand. While coming from Bangalore, she told me that ‘we are going to do this film. More Later, I came to know that the film had started with Rajesh Khanna in the lead role.”
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After learning about the casting, Dharmendra called Rishikesh overnight. “I didn’t let Rishida sleep the whole night. I told her, ‘You were going to give me this role, you told me this story, then why did you give this film to Rajesh Khanna?’ He kept telling me, ‘Dharam, go to sleep, we will talk in the morning.’ He would cut the line and I would call him back and ask, ‘Why did you give him this role?’
Although Hrishikesh and Dharmendra could not work together in Anand, they later worked in Chupke Chupke and Guddi. Dharmendra has worked in few films in recent years. She was last seen in ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se’ with her sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. The actor has recently signed the love story of Rocky and Rani, directed by Karan Johar. He will play the role of Ranveer Singh’s father in this film. Dharmendra also has ‘Apne 2’ in the pipeline.
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