Shatrughan Sinha said he was supposed to star in the 1975 films Deewaar and Sholay, but had to turn both down as he had no dates. Both films eventually went to his friend, actor Amitabh Bachchan, further cementing his star status in the Hindi film industry. While the veteran actor revealed that he regretted not being able to do these iconic films, he was very happy that it made Amitabh a national icon.
Shatrughan got his acting break in Deva Anand’s Prem Pujari in 1970 but Sajan was his first release in 1969. He acted in many films like Gambler, Bombay to Goa, Ghulam Begum Badshah, Blackmail, Jaggu, Kalicharan, Jaani Dushman and Shaan. among many others.
Speaking to Aaj Take, the veteran actor recalled, “I’ve had films that I regretted. Like Deewaar. I regretted not being able to do that film. Deewaar was written for me. They brought it to me. The script was with me for about six months. But we had some creative differences and I took the script back. Similarly, I was supposed to do Sholay. The role my friend Amitabh Bachchan was doing. They wanted me to do it. Some people wanted to play the role of Gabbar Singh. And my friend, the great filmmaker Ramesh Sippy , he couldn’t tell me the dates from start to finish when he wanted me. He just told me to come to Bangalore and we’ll do a film together. I had so many films that I couldn’t do it.”
However, the actor did not want to play other villains at that time. At that time, he was juggling a lot of films and even had to turn down Manoj Kumar, whom he considered an elder brother, for a role in his film Shor.
He added, “So, Sholay and Deewaar, I’m definitely sad in a way… it’s like human error. But I’m also glad I didn’t do them for many reasons, India’s best actor, national icon Amitabh Bachchan got such a big platform. I’m happy that he has become one of the biggest national stars, my friend Amitabh Bachchan.”
Shatrughan graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, Maharashtra. He later came to Mumbai to try to become an actor in the Hindi film industry in the 1960s.
