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Director Yash Chopra needed help to get Jaya Bachchan to agree to the film Silsila, which also starred her husband, Amitabh Bachchan, and Rekha. It was the casting coup of the decade, as rumours of Amitabh and Rekha’s affair had already slipped into the public consciousness. Plus, the film’s plot seemed to reflect this real-life dynamic, which made the casting all the more crucial. Yash approached Sanjeev Kumar to get Jaya to agree, as the two were close. Sanjeev’s biographer, Hanif Zaveri, and his niece, Jigna, recalled this chapter in his life.
In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, they said, “Yash Chopra knew that Sanjeev Kumar thought of Jaya as his sister, so he asked him to put in a good word. She agreed to do the film, but put forward one condition. She said that she would always be present on set, even when she wasn’t required.” Asked why she proposed this condition, Hanif said, “Because of Rekha, obviously.”
Smita Patil and Parveen Babi were initially supposed to do the film alongside Amitabh Bachchan. “Amitabh and Rekha were already there, and Yash Chopra desperately wanted Jaya, who was reluctant. But Sanjeev convinced her,” Hanif said.
Gossip surrounded Amitabh everywhere he went at the time. Amar Singh, who was once very close friends with the Bachchan family, told author Yasser Usman for his book Rekha: The Untold Story, “Once, Shabana Azmi invited us for her birthday. I reached her house along with Jaya and Amitabh. We reached on time, and Amitabh told his driver to go eat since they would take long. Upon reaching inside, we saw Rekha was already present there. As soon as Amitji saw Rekha, he immediately returned outside.”
Rekha has also spoken about being mesmerised by Amitabh. She told Filmfare in an interview, “Whatever I am as an actor, I owe 100 per cent to him. I just soaked in whatever he had to offer just observing him. The irony is that he was totally oblivious to the impact he had on mine or anybody else’s life. Just his presence and spirit contributed to my métier as an actor and as a human being. He’s like my inner conscience which guides me through life and my performances.”
She added, “When fans write to me and question why we haven’t worked together after Silsila, the only rational answer that I can think of is that the wait to be able to co-star with Amitji is worth it. That everything happens for the right reason at the right time. And I’d attribute that to the better judgment of the directors who believe that they’ve yet to come across something worthy of our calibre. I truly believe that sabr ka phal meetha hota hai (patience’s fruit is sweet). In this case, time is not of the essence. That I know for sure.”
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