Jaya Bachchan wanted to play ‘Basanti’ in Sholay instead Hema Malini
Jaya Bachchan wanted to play ‘Basanti’ in Sholay instead Hema Malini
Bollywood veterans Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan are gearing up to share the screen space after a long time in the Karan Johar directorial “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani”
Notably, the duo have often won hearts with their chemistry and performances in several yesteryear movies. It was the 1971 film Guddi amid which Jaya Bachchan fell for Dharmendra and admitted to a crush on him.
After a crash course in acting from FTII Pune, Jaya Bhaduri, came to Mumbai, the ‘Mecca’ of Bollywood and made her debut in the 1971 film alongside Dharmendra, who was an established actor by then.
Jaya did not take time to impress her fans with her acting skills.
Seeing the charismatic Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan once revealed how she hid behind a sofa when she first met him. Amid her appearance on Koffee with Karan in 2007, the actor-politician recalled her first meeting with Dharmendra and called him a ‘Greek God.’ She went on to say that when she saw him for the first time and was introduced to him, there was a sofa and she went and hid behind it as she was so very nervous! She didn’t know what to do. There was this fantastic-looking man. She still reminiscences the white trousers and a white shirt he was attired in and looked like a Greek God!” She even mentioned how she should have played the part of Basanti in place of Hema Malini in the 1975 film Sholay.
While the two are now promoting Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, helmed by Karan Johar, Dharmendra recently addressed the fact that Jaya was crushing on him in the 70s.
Over a conversation with Zoom, the 87-year-old recalled Jaya’s affection, love and respect towards him. He said, “This is her love and respect speaking. He has known Jaya and Amitabh for a very long time now and has not forgotten the fun times that they had while shooting for Sholay.” He further recalled the time the entire film crew used to work like “one big family.”
For the unversed, Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan tied the knot in 1973 after the thumping success of the veteran filmmaker Prakash Mehra directorial “Zanjeer” and after meeting in the early 70s.
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani features Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles. While there is a massive buzz around the film, it is set to hit the theatres on July 28, 2023.
News input KV Raman
