When Bollywood celebrated Salim-Javed and Amitabh Bachchan's failure! Dilip Kumar rejected the movie's offer

Millennium star Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most respectable figures in the Indian film industry. Even at the age of 82, he stuns moviegoers with his powerful performance and versatility. Every aspiring and existing actor and director in the Indian film industry has immense respect for Big B and idolises him. But, did you know that Bollywood celebrated Amitabh Bachchan's failure?

Yes, though it sounds unbelievable, Amitabh Bachchan starred in a movie along with four other stars. However, the movie became a disaster. Ironically, the movie was written by the iconic writer duo Salim-Javed, who established Amitabh Bachchan as a superstar with their scripts. Be it Zanjeer, Don, Deewar or Sholay, all these iconic classics established Big B's stardom. However, one movie including the trio became a disaster.

About the movie

Well, the movie is Immaan Dharam, written by the iconic writer-duo Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar. Renowned producer of the time Premji bankrolled Immaan Dharam and Desh Mukherjee helmed the movie. It was released with much fanfare on January 7, 1977, a week before Amitabh Bachchan's blockbuster Amar Akbar Anthony.

Immaan Dharam movie poster

Ensemble cast of Immaan Dharam

The ensemble cast of the action drama included Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Rekha, Prem Chopra, Helen, Helen, Amrish Puri, Utpal Dutt, Aparna  Sen and Satyen Kappu. 

Actors who rejected the movie

As per reports, before locking the final casting, the movie was offered to a few other actors. However, they rejected the offer. Before locking Sanjeev Kumar, the role was offered to Dilip Kumar. However, he turned down the before. Even the female lead's role played by Helen was first offered to Parveen Babi, but she rejected it.

Big jolt to iconic writer duo Salim-Javed

The iconic writer duo Salim-Javed wrote some of the biggest blockbuster movies. Undeniably, they brought a revolution in filmmaking with their scripts. However, after back-to-back hits, the writers gave a dud, and reportedly, the failure was celebrated by the film industry. This disaster was the first major blow to the iconic writer-duo.