This actor was Dushmun’s first choice, not Rajesh Khanna

With a career spanning many decades, Rajesh Khanna was very successful. With his unmatched brilliance and elegance, the Hindi film industry’s biggest star captured the hearts of the public. Several box office successes, like Anand, Bawarchi, and Dushmun, left the audience in awe. Many, however, are unaware that Dulal Guha, the director of Dushmun, had considered casting Dharmendra in the part prior to Rajesh Khanna. Premji, the 1972 film’s producer, reportedly wanted Dharmendra to play the major role as well. The directors reportedly altered their minds because Dharmendra reportedly requested an outrageous sum of money for the part. After that, they got in touch with Rajesh Khanna, who agreed to perform for a lower amount. Prior to Aradhana, Rajesh Khanna signed Dushmun. His market worth increased with the success of Shakti Samanta’s film Aradhana.

Another name for Dushmun that many remember is Zanjeer. Producer Premji altered the title to Dushmun because he didn’t like it, according to IMDB reports. He gave filmmaker Prakash Mehra the title Zanjeer, which he utilized for his Amitabh Bachchan movie.

Dushmun had an incredible run at the box office and was allegedly made on a budget of more than Rs 1.20 crore. It brought about 4 crore rupees at the home box office and 6 crore rupees overseas. The movie’s plot and soundtrack were well-received by the audience. It rose to become 1972’s third-highest grosser. It was remade as Neethi (1972) in Tamil, Khaidi Babai (1974) in Telugu, and Maattoli (1978) in Malayalam. Additionally, it was remade in Bengali as Nishpap Asami (1997) and Kannada as Hosa Theerpu (1983).

Rajesh Khanna was adored and referred to as the “king of romance” in addition to being a successful actor. During his prime, his movie guaranteed box office success. He was unable to accept it when his fame started to wane after a while. In an interview, veteran actor Prem Chopra discussed it with Bollywood Thikana. “He continued the same style (as the period when he was a superstar), and those films did not work either,” said Prem Chopra. It’s the reason he had to (experience a decline in his notoriety). He was unable to confront the reality of my past and present.