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In 1987, Shekhar Kapur directed a movie produced by Boney Kapoor and Surinder Kapoor and written by Salim-Javed. The movie emerged as a commercial success and became the second highest-grossing film of the year at the Indian box office after Dharmendra’s Hukumat, where it earned Rs 100 million against a Rs 38 million budget; it was also an overseas hit in China.
The movie received widespread acclaim with most of them appreciating the performances of the lead actor and actress. We are talking about cult classic Mr India featuring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Amrish Puri as the iconic antogonist Mogambo. Anil got stardom from this movie. But did you know he wasn’t the first choice for the role?
According to reports, Rajesh Khanna was originally considered for the lead role in Mr India. In fact, Salim-Javed wrote the script with him in mind. However, after a year, they felt he might not be the right fit for the character. So, they decided to approach someone else.
After Khanna, another superstar was also offered the role before it finally went to Anil Kapoor. Yes, you read it right! Salim-Javed approached Amitabh Bachchan with the script.
Bachchan liked the script, he wasn’t sure about toying with the idea of the superhero genre. Thus, he reportedly rejected the film. After Bachchan’s rejection, the script went to Boney Kapoor, and he suggested his brother for the hero role. Anil also realised the potential in the script, and he instantly agreed to do it.
Mr India was a breakthrough for its director and cast members and became a milestone in Hindi cinema for its rarely filmed superhero genre, which was followed by several Indian films in later years. It was remade in Tamil as En Rathathin Rathame (1989) and Kannada as Jai Karnataka (1989). A 3D sequel, titled Mr India 2, was announced in 2011 but has not entered production.
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