Bollywood has reams of stories to tell. But the stories behind the creation of these stories often go unheard. Here are interesting facts/anecdotes/trivia around your some of the classic Bollywood films.
- Guide (1965) was Dev Anand’s first colour movie. Two versions of the movie were made separately — one in English and one in Hindi.
- Dilip Kumar was the first choice for the lead for Guru Dutt’s classic Pyaasa. Due to his unprecedented absence, Dutt himself took up the mantle.
- The song ‘Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya’ from the legendary Mughal-e-Azam cost a whopping Rs 10 million for its creation where the rest of the movie was made for less than a million.
- B.R. Chopra’s 1957-classic Naya Daur was originally supposed to feature Madhubala as the female lead, had her father not objected to her budding romantic relationship with Dilip Kumar.
- Ram Aur Shyam (1967) was a remake of the popular Telugu film Ramudu Bheemudu, which in turn was loosely based on Alexander Dumas’ The Corsican Brothers.
- In Dekh Kabira Roya (1957) the song ‘Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dware‘ was sung by Manna Day after music director Madan Mohan bribed him with a meal of bhindi meat curry.
- Dev Anand’s role in CID (1956) was a result of his promise with Guru Dutt. He was promised a role in a movie produced by the latter as Anand helped Dutt with a directorial break.
- Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam was submitted to the Oscars. It was turned down by the academy on the grounds that in their culture, “a woman drinking is not taboo.”
- Balraj Sahni shot the iconic song ‘Tu Pyar Ka Sagar Hai’ in a single day as he was in a hurry. He had to reach the airport. It seems quite impossible to have shot it in a day’s time.
- The song ‘Aye Malik Tere Bande Hum,’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the movie Do Ankhen Barah Haath (1957) was adopted as an anthem by a school in Pakistan.
- Director Anil Ganguly’s 1974 marital drama Kora Kagaz (1974) almost didn’t get made as the financer backed out one day before the film was going to hit the floors.
- Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) was the last film directed by Guru Dutt and India’s first cinemascope film.
- Shakti (1982) was the first and only film which featured the battle of the two greats – Amitabh and Dilip Kumar. Big B fans were a bit disappointed as he was overshadowed by the latter.
- Gol Maal (1979) was filmed almost entirely around the director, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s bungalow in Bandra. It was shot in 40 days.
- Sangam (1964) was Raj Kapoor’s first colour film and also the cause of an ugly feud between him and writer Inder Raj Anand. This led the writer to lose 18 films and get a subsequent heart attack.
- Andaz (1949) was the first success for the Raj Kapoor-Nargis pair after which they had 14 other hits. It was also the only time Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar shot together.
- Amar (1954) was deliberately made in black and white although the director had already shot a movie in colour. Perhaps it fit the overall tone of the film.
- The iconic and electric dance of Joy Mukherjee in the song ‘Duniya Pagal Hai‘ in the movie Shagird (1967) was actually something he picked up from a dancer at a HongKong nightclub during the filming of the movie, Love In Tokyo.
- Anand (1971) was actually a really low-budget film. For that reason, Rajesh Khanna waived off his remuneration and accepted only Rs 7 lakhs for the film.
- The movie Bawarchi (1972) had no title cards. Amitabh Bachchan just narrated the titles and the credits using a voice over – a very unconventional method.
- A lot of international songs sampled the title song of Shalimar (1978). This includes “Mef vs. Chef 2” song by Method Man, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah and The Hours by Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. Chino Moreno, El-P and Cage.
- Jaya Bhaduri was pregnant during the making of Chupke Chupke (1975). Most of her shots had to be taken very carefully and at precise angles in order to mask her pregnancy.
- Mother India (1957) was India’s first Oscar nomination. It was nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.
- The movie Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) was made on such a low budget that Naseeruddin Shah was only paid Rs 15,000 for the film (the highest-paid actor in the film). He also had to bring his own camera as a prop. It was later stolen.
- In the movie Awaara (1951) Raj Kapoor was given prisoner number 308. This number is the same as Article 308 under which he was charged and faced trial.
- In the film Salaam Bombay! (1988) Nana Patekar actually got stabbed by one of the child actors who did not properly understand the director’s instructions.
- Deewar (1975) and Sholay (1975) were shot simultaneously. Bachchan shot Sholay in the morning and Deewar at night.
- The song “Meri Bindoo” in Padosan (1968) was shot without a proper choreographer and under the impromptu instruction of Kishore Kumar. It was one of the funniest scenes in the movie.
- In the movie Don (1978), Amitabh Bachchan was paid less salary than Pran although Bachchan was playing the lead role.
- Chhoti Si Baat (1976), in one of the scenes, you can clearly see the poster for Zameer (1975).This was another movie that was produced by B.R. Chopra.
- Along with the First Film Fare Award in 1954, Do Bigha Zamin (1953) also won the All India Certificate of Merit at the First National Film Awards in the same year as well as an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
- During the shooting of Madhumati (1958),Bimal Roy was out of money. Seeing this, Dilip Kumar put together a special screening for distributors who then put their money on the film.
- Amitabh Bachchan was initially offered the lead role in Ardh Satya (1983) but turned it down. “Amitabh Bachchan is a great actor, and I am thankful that he refused Ardh Satya,” Puri went on to say in his biography.
- Much of the underworld slang that is used in Bombay today has been borrowed from Parinda (1989).
- In Mr. India (1987) the blackboard used during the lecture scene displays the Boney’s Law of Time-Space Continuum. Boney Kapoor was the producer of the movie.
- Masoom (1983) director Shekhar Kapoor recently received flak on social media for calling his movie an original. It’s a remade version of Man, Woman and Child.
- Raj Kapoor put his own money into Mera Naam Joker (1970). He even had to mortgage his house. The movie was a commercial failure.
- Anthony Gonsalves in Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) is actually the name of Pyarelal’s music teacher.
- Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977) was Satyajit Ray’s only Hindi movie and also the only Indian movie featuring Sir Richard Attenborough.
- Aradhana (1969) was the first Hindi movie to run successfully for more than 100 days with four shows a day in non-Hindi speaking north-eastern areas.
- Amitabh’s mouth was stuffed with cotton balls in Agneepath (1990) to give him the gangster look just like Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972).
- While filming the movie Nau Do Gyrah (1957), Dev Anand and crew were resting in a region of Chambal. At night a fully armed dacoit stood on Dev Anand’s doorstep and asked for an autograph. Weird fanbase.
- For the movie, Ankur: The Seedling (1974), director Shyam Benegal collected funds for the movie from local farmers because it was a project that would help to promote their issues to the mainstream audiences and it was a low-budget movie.
- The song ‘Zindagi Milke Bitayenge‘ was sampled from ‘The Longest Day’ by Paul Anka for the movie Satte Pe Satta (1982).
- The lead role of Zanjeer (1973) was offered to Raaj Kumar who refused it because be could not stand the smell of director Prakash Mehra’s hair oil.
- The song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’ from Shree 420 (1955) is heard being played in the opening scene of Deadpool (2016).
- The “I can talk English” scene in Namak Halal (1982) was mostly improvised and director Prakash Mehra was asked to stay outside to prevent Bachchan bursting into a fit of laughter.
- In Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Bachchan threw a glass at Vinod Khanna and it wounded his chin. He needed six stitches later on.
- When Naushad was approached for composing the music of Azaad (1955), he declined because they only gave him two weeks. He said that he was a composer and not a factory. But C Ramachandra was up to the task and composed ten songs for the movie within a fortnight and most of them became chart-toppers.
- The movie Kaala Patthar (1979) was inspired by a real coal mine disaster known as Chasala Mining Disaster that happened on 27th December 1975 near Dhanbad, Jharkhand and killed 372 miners.
- During the filming of the climax of Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965),Shashi Kapoor had to lift Nanda while she was running beside a moving train. Kapoor tried to nail the timing and pulled her up at the last second. The director actually closed his eyes because he thought that she was going to die.
- Abhimaan (1973) is another remake of A Star Is Born (1937), which has already been remade countless times.
- The title song, ‘Yaadon Ki Baarat’ in Yaadon Ki Baarat (1974) that was sung by the three brothers on screen was actually sung by women.
- The movie Sadma (1983) starring Sridevi and Kamal Hassan was a shot by shot remake of Moondram Pirai (1982).
- Silsila (1981) is the only movie in which Shashi Kapoor is cast as the elder brother of Bachchan. In all other movies, he plays the role of the younger brother.
- Amitabh Bachchan is the only actor to have been nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for three films in a year, twice. 1978: Don, Trishul, Muqaddar Ka Sikander. 1982: Bemisaal, Namak Halaal, Shakti.
- Parveen Babi was first signed for Zeenat Aman’s role in Laawaris (1981). She even shot the first few scenes before she succumbed to illness.
- The iconic Amjad Khan as Gabbar was almost dropped from Sholay (1975) because Javed Akhtar deemed his voice too weak for the role of Gabbar Singh.
- During the music recording for Kabhie Kabhie (1976), a musicians strike was going on. So, Yash Chopra brought in artists from the navy to record the music.
- The movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) used an unusual business strategy. They gave a free poster of Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla if a person bought eight tickets. It worked.
- In Sharaabi (1984) Bachchan’s character developed a unique style of keeping his left hand in his pocket as a result of Bachchan’s injury during Diwali celebrations.
- The movie Shaan (1980) was the first time when Parveen Babi suffered a nervous breakdown, leading to a fall in her career.
- The Hindi classic Karz (1980) spawned several remakes. These include Yuga Purusha (1989) in Kannada, Enakkul Oruvan (1984) in Tamil and Aaatma Balam (1985) in Telugu along with the most recent adaptation being the Hindi film KARZZZZ (2008).
- The movie Chameli Ki Shaadi (1986) was originally titled, Trump Card. Just why?
- In the movie Naseeb (1981), almost the entire film industry was assembled by Manmohan Desai for the song ‘John Jani Janardhan’.
- Namak Haraam (1973) was the final movie starring both Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna due to their growing rivalry. Khanna vehemently criticized his performance in the movie.
- In the movie, Ijaazat (1987), the song ‘Khali Haath Shaam Ayi’ is derived from S.D. Burman’s Bengali song, ‘Malakhani Chilo Hathe.’
- Mili (1975) was the last movie on which S.D. Burman worked. ‘Badi Suni Suni Hai’ sung by Kishore Kumar was his last song which was arranged and recorded by Burman’s son, R.D. Burman.
- The reason why Neetu Singh appears only in half of a song in Yaarana (1981) is because she didn’t want to be away from her newly-wed husband Rishi Kapoor.
- Kishore Kumar made Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Bengali movie Lookochuri in the hope that they would flop because he wanted to show losses to the income tax department. Both the movies were huge commercial successes.
- Shakti Samanta’s classic Amar Prem (1972) was inspired from a Bengali film named Nishipadma (1970).
- Woh 7 Din (1983) inspired Sanjay Leela Bhansali to make Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). Both the movies were critical successes.
- The movie Khoobsurat (1980) sees Rekha as a debutant singer under the banner of R.D. Burman.
- Dosti (1964) received six Filmfare Awards, including Best Film in opposition to Raj Kapoor’s Sangam (1964) along with a National Award (Best Film Feature in Hindi). It was also screened at the Moscow International Film Festival 1965 as the official Indian entry.
- K. Balachander’s 1981-hit Ek Duuje Ke Liye starring Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri started the dangerous trend of depressed couples committing suicide together.
- The movie Aandhi (1975) was banned due to the similarities between the lead character and the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. It was later released after the ban was removed.
- In the movie Saaransh (1984), where Anupam Kher played the role of an elderly person, he was only 28 years old. Perhaps it just stuck.
- The movie Arth (1982) is based on the relationship between Mahesh Bhatt and Parveen Babi.
- In the movie Meri Jung (1985), Anil Kapoor was to play the role of the villain. He got the lead when Bachchan stepped down from it.
- Aamir Khan used some of his own money to promote Raakh (1980). It was a low budget movie and he refused to accept payment.
- Shammi Kapoor’s wife Geeta Bali died during the shooting of Teesri Manzil (1966). This led to a three-month halt in the shoot.
- Ashutosh Gowariker, the famous director was once a junior artist who can be seen playing the role of a taxi driver in Naam (1986).
- The prelude of the song “Frenny O Frenny” in Khatta Meetha (1981) later became the track Tanhayee Tanhaaye Tanhaaye in Koyla (1997).
- The iconic scene involving Raj Kapoor and Nargis in Barsaat (1949) became the logo for RK Studios which RK bought with the earnings from this film.
- Asha Parekh had the habit of crinkling her forehead during emotional scenes. Manoj Kumar in Upkar (1967) helped put a stop to it.
- Rajnigandha (1974) won the Filmfare for best film despite being the debut movie of Amol Palekar and Vidya Sinha.
- Mehmood charged his brother Anwar Ali the full market price for the movie, Khud-Daar (1982) while Amitabh Bachchan charged way lower than his market price.
- Instead of the popular belief that Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was Aamir Khan’s debut film, it was actually an experimental film Holi (1984) which was not really a commercial success. His first appearance onscreen was at the age of 8 as a child actor in Yadon Ki Baraat (1974).
- The movie Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahi (1991) was a remake of another classic success Chori Chori (1956).
- Producer Subhash Durgarkar sold his house to get the money for the funding of the movie Ankush (1968).
- In the movie Aakrosh (1980)the character of Om Puri does not utter a single word until 43 minutes into the film.
- The movie Gumnaam (1965) saw a cold war brewing between Mehmood and Manoj Kumar which could have resulted in the absence of the iconic song, Hum Kaale Hai To Kya Hua from the movie.
- The elephant from the movie Haathi Mera Saathi (1971) recognised the lead actress (Tanuja) years later and grabbed her saree when she visited a circus with her daughter (Kajol).
- Manoj Kumar always hired Mukesh for the songs of his movies. When he was no longer alive during the making of Kranti (1981), Kumar called in his son Nitin Mukesh for the job.
- The song ‘Pal Bhar Ke Liye’ from Johny Mera Naam (1970) was used in popular American TV show, The Simpsons.
- On the night when Mashaal (1984) premiered, Anil Kapoor was able to sign Feroz Khan’s Janbaaz and Subhash Ghai’s Meri Jung.
- Baazigar (1993) was turned down by Akshay Kumar, Arbaaz Khan, Anil Kapoor and Salman Khan before it went to Shahrukh.
- Pandit Mukhram Sharma was the first Hindi screenwriter to have his name featured on a film’s poster. He wrote screenplays of Dhool ka Phool (1959), Yash Chopra’s debut film, Vachan (1955) and Sadhna (1958).
- After SRK won the best actor for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Aamir Khan stopped attending Filmfare for he deemed it unfair and believed that he should have won for the movie Rangeela. What do you think?
