Recently, Zeenat Aman shared an unknown anecdote about the song "Khaike Paan Banaras Wala" from her film Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan in the titular role. The track, which won several hearts when released, was originally not meant to be a part of the movie, it was actually created for Dev Anand's film Banarasi Babu, but got rejected for being too frivolous. Taking to her Instagram handle, Zeenat shared the interesting memory with her fans. Along with a short clip of her and Big B dancing to the beats of "Khaike Paan Banaras Wala" from their 1978 hit movie, she wrote, "If you work in a team industry and are blessed with a bit of luck, you may get to play a small part in creating enduring creative and cultural magic. Rumour has it that Khaike Paan Banaraswala wasn’t originally meant to be included in Don. It was created for Dev Anand’s Banarasi Babu, but had been rejected as too frivolous." ALSO READ | When Zeenat Aman revealed why she was forced to leave husband Mazhar Khan despite caring, was punished for it: ‘Every penny he owned was taken by his mother, sister’ Check out her post: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman) But, director Chandra Barot, who had completed shooting his action-thriller Don by then, realised that the movie required a lighter moment to balance out the intense story. "Meanwhile Director Chandra Barot had completed his action thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan in a double-role, but found that the second half of the film needed some relief from the intensity of the plot line. Long after the film had wrapped, the cast and crew arrived at Mehboob Studio to shoot a new video. With crackling, innuendo-laden lyrics, an irresistible beat, Kishore Kumar on vocals, and a spirited performance by Mr Bachchan, Khaike Paan Banaraswala emerged as a surprise hit," she added. Zeenat Aman also recalled the amount of paan Amitabh Bachchan had to chew while shooting "Khaike Paan Banaras Wala" and the energy he brought on set. Moreover, the track was later recreated by Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra in the 2006 remake of Don by Farhan Akhtar. The caption further read, "It took several days to shoot this number and what I remember most acutely is the quantity of paan that Mr. Bachchan consumed, and the sheer energy he brought to set. He was one of just two male leads at the time who was considerably taller than my 5 feet 8 inches, and so it’s a rare song in which the director had me dancing in ‘proper’ high heels. It was later reenacted by SRK and Priyanka Chopra in Farhan Akhtar’s 2006 remake of the film. And ‘their’ number is just as catchy and upbeat as ‘ours’ was!" Meanwhile, after Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh will carry forward the legacy of one of Bollywood’s most iconic characters, Don. He will play the role in Don 3, taking over from SRK in the previous instalment.
