Not Rajesh Khanna, This Actor Was The First Choice For Dushmun
Dushmun became the third highest grosser of 1972.
Dushmun’s director Dulal Guha wanted to rope in Dharmendra for the role.
Rajesh Khanna had an illustrious career that spanned many decades. The superstar of Hindi cinema won the audience’s hearts with his unparalleled talent and grace. He impressed the audience with several blockbusters like Anand, Bawarchi, and Dushmun. Many, however, don’t know that before Rajesh Khanna, Dushmun’s director Dulal Guha wanted to rope in Dharmendra for the role. As per IMDB report, the 1972-film’s producer Premji also wanted Dharmendra as the lead. Reportedly, Dharmendra demanded an exorbitant amount for the role due to which makers changed their mind. Thereafter they contacted Rajesh Khanna, and he agreed to act at a lesser fee. Rajesh Khanna signed Dushmun before Aradhana. After the success of Aradhana, directed by Shakti Samanta, his market value escalated.
Dushmun is also remembered for its earlier title, Zanjeer. As per IMDB reports, producer Premji didn’t like the title and changed it to Dushmun. He presented the title Zanjeer to director Prakash Mehra, who used it for his film starring Amitabh Bachchan.
Dushmun was reportedly produced on a budget of over Rs 1.20 crore and had a phenomenal run at the box office. Its domestic box-office collection was Rs 4 crore and its worldwide box-office collection was Rs 6 crore. The audience appreciated the storyline and songs of the film. It became the third highest grosser of 1972. It was remade in Tamil as Neethi (1972), in Telugu as Khaidi Babai (1974), and in Malayalam as Maattoli (1978). It was also remade in Kannada as Hosa Theerpu (1983) and in Bengali as Nishpap Asami (1997).
Rajesh Khanna was not just an actor, but a star who was loved and hailed as the ‘king of romance’. His film assured success at the box office during his heydays. After a certain point of time, his stardom began to decline, and he couldn’t face it. Veteran actor Prem Chopra talked about it in an interview with Bollywood Thikana. Prem Chopra said,” He continued the same style (as the time when he was a superstar) and those films did not work either. That is why he had to (suffer a downfall in his fame). He could not face that thing – where I was and where I am now.”
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