When Amitabh Bachchan's refusal to do a movie made Anil Kapoor a big star

Mr. India was the movie that made Anil Kapoor a big Bollywood star. Before that, he had worked in some good movies like Woh Saat Din, Mashal, and even Shakti. But the way Mr. India made him a superstar in Bollywood’s mainstream circuit no other movie could do. However, it was not a script that was written with Anil Kapoor in mind.

Reportedly, Salim-Javed wrote the script, and the role of Mr. India was offered to Amitabh Bachchan who was the biggest superstar of Bollywood in those days. The famous writer duo insisted that Big B should play this character. However, Amitji was reluctant to do the role because he felt that the audience would not see the movie since they would see his face for a very short time.

The prime character in the movie, Mr. India, keeps on disappearing and throughout the movie, only his voice can be heard. Amitabh Bachchan thought that most of his fans come to the theater to see his face and since he would not be seen for half the time, the film would not appeal to his audience.

However, Salim-Javed insisted that he should do the movie because his iconic voice would make a massive impact on the success of the film. Despite a lot of pursuing, the Shahenshah declined the offer, and then the script was picked by Boney Kapoor, the producer brother of Anil Kapoor .

Boney knew that the script had potential and wanted to establish his brother's career. So, he roped in Sridevi as the female lead for the movie. During one of his interviews, the Wanted producer even admitted to having paid Sriji much more amount than was paid to a heroine those days to ensure that the film became a big hit.

Anil Kapoor came across an unseen picture from the sets of his 19837 film Mr India on Friday. The candid picture shows Anil and Sridevi posing together and director Shekhar Kapur pushing Anil from behind. As a Twitter user shared the rare picture, Anil reacted to it saying,… pic.twitter.com/wlAIMP3FZ2

— The Filmy Charcha (@thefilmycharcha) April 14, 2023

Mr. India was a blockbuster and turned Anil Kapoor into a superstar and also elevated the stardom of Sridevi.