The Night a Drunk Dharmendra Hounded a Director Over a Film Role

In a classic Bollywood tale, veteran actor Dharmendra once spent an entire night making drunken phone calls to legendary director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The cause of his emotional outburst was losing the lead role in the iconic 1971 film 'Anand' to superstar Rajesh Khanna, a role that Mukherjee had initially narrated to him.Dharmendra shared this humorous, behind-the-scenes story on 'The Kapil Sharma Show,' revealing that the director had first told him the script for 'Anand' during a flight, with the intention of casting him as the lead. The actor was deeply moved by the story and eagerly anticipated the project. However, he was later shocked to read in the news that the film had started with Rajesh Khanna playing the main character.Feeling slighted and emotional after having a few drinks, Dharmendra decided to take the matter up with the director directly. "I did not let Hrishida sleep the whole night," Dharmendra recounted. He continuously called Mukherjee, repeatedly asking the same question: "You were going to give me the role, you told me the story, so why did you give the film to him?" The patient director kept telling him to go to sleep and that they would talk in the morning, but the persistent actor would simply hang up and call back.Despite the drunken incident, the professional relationship and personal friendship between the two remained strong. They went on to collaborate on other celebrated films such as 'Chupke Chupke' and 'Guddi.' Dharmendra has since admitted that Rajesh Khanna's performance in 'Anand' was brilliant and that he no longer feels any regret. The film, which also co-starred a young Amitabh Bachchan, became a timeless masterpiece of Indian cinema.