Did You Know Amitabh Bachchan’s Shahenshah Writer Completed 23-Page Climax Dialogues A Day Before He Death? Director Recalled His Father Saying, “Won’t Let People Say…”
He revealed how and when his father wrote the climax of the film too
Shahenshah Writer Completed Amitabh Bachchan’s 23 Pages Climax Dialogues A Day Before He Died(Pic Credit: Movie Still)
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The 80s was one of the best decades for Bollywood movies. This decade gave us some evergreen films including Karz, Umrao Jaan, Mr India, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and more. Among these hits of the 80s was also Amitabh Bachchan’s vigilante action film, Shahenshah. And today, we shared some trivia about the Tinnu Anand directorial
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Released in February 1988, the film starred Amitabh as the titular character and Inspector Vijay Shrivastav alongside Meenakshi Sheshadri, Pran, Aruna Irani, Prem Chopra and more. While Wikipedia says the film’s story was actress Jaya Bachchan and the screenplay by veteran screenwriter Inder Raj Anand, in a past conversation Tinnu spoke about it. He revealed how and when his father wrote the climax of the film too. Read on.
In a past chat with Cinestaan, Shahenshah director Tinnu Anand recalled how his father – writer Inder Raj Anand wrote the climax dialogues of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer on his death bed. He had told the publication, “When I went to the hospital, my set was coming up, while the dialogues for the climax were not complete. I was worried as I wanted him to finish the entire 23 pages of dialogue, all to be spoken by one actor in the court. It was a gigantic effort.”
Continuing further, the Shahenshah director said that the climax scene was written by his dad, Inder Raj Anand during his last days while he was hospitalized. The man behind the iconic Amitabh Bachchan-starrer said, “He (Inder) saw the worried look on my face. He called me to his side, oxygen mask on, and said, ‘don’t worry son, I will not ditch you. I won’t let people say that a father has left his son down by not finishing his climax’. You won’t believe it, on the last day, just before he breathed his last, he sat down with my assistant in the hospital and he put a full stop to the climax.”
In the same conversation, Tinnu Anand also spoke about Amitabh Bachchan’s wife Jaya Bachchan being credited for the story of Shahenshah. Denying the same, the director said, “It was all a lie. It was just a matter of convenience. I can’t tell you the reason. It’s a known fact that the story was mine. I was the one who surrendered the title to Jaya ji.”
While Shehanshah is remembered for Amitabh Bachchan’s dual performances – as a comic policeman and a crime-fighting vigilante, its dialogues – especially “Rishtey mein to hum tumhare baap hote hai, naam hai Shahenshah” is known by many (if not all).
