Rare photo of Hera Pheri team: Amitabh Vinod Saira Kalyanji Prakash Mehra
Undoubtedly Prakash Mehra was a director with ‘Midas’ touch. He gave a big break to Amitabh Bachchan in “Zanjeer” as Police Officer and gave him the title as ‘Angry Young Man’. The film turned out to be a blockbuster success at the box-office. After this there was no looking back for Amitabh Bachchan. Zanjeer released in 1973.
In 1974 he had his Muhurat for his directorial “Hera Pheri” featuring Amitabh Bachchan Vinod Khanna and Saira Banu. touch. mahurat of “Hera Pheri”. Sunil Dutt sounded the clapper board set the celluloid wheels in motion. Around him were Prakash Mehra scheming the magic behind the lens, Kalyanji ready for the tunes that stick, Saira Banu in her ethereal glow and then the fire and the ice, Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna. Two heavyweights, same frame, same dream, but a rivalry simmering under the polite smiles and handshakes. It was a moment frozen in time, a prelude to con games, betrayal, and the cinematic electricity that only a Mehra-Vijay-Ajay combo could conjure.
On screen, Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) and Ajay ( Vinod Khanna) would battle wits and hearts; off screen, Amitabh and Vinod carried the tension like a second script, every glance charged, every line weighted with unspoken competition.
The mahurat wasn’t just a clap, it was a declaration. “Hera Pheri” wasn’t merely a movie; but, B’town’s chessboard and the stars. They were moving pawns, knights, queens with style, sass, and swagger. Looking back, it’s not nostalgia, but, smell of ambition, ego, and the first sparks of a cinematic clash.
News Edit KV Raman
