Shabana Azmi discloses amusing reason for doing 'Amar Akbar Anthony' opposite Vinod Khanna

Actor Shabana Azmi spoke about why she agreed to do the film, Amar Akbar Anthony, which recently completed 43 years of its release. The actor revealed how the film was shot and why she took up the role. Shabana Azmi agrees that the role was not a prominent one, however, she agreed to be a part of the film after director Manmohan Desai requested her to take up the part. Read on to know more:

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Amar Akbar Anthony cast

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Shabana Azmi reportedly told an entertainment portal that she was shooting for a film in Ranjit Studios when the director came in and spoke to her candidly. She reportedly stated that he told her that he was producing a film in which Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor both had female actors opposite them. However, Vinod Khanna did not have an actor opposite him.

She recalled that Manmohan Desai stated that Vinod Khanna would not like it if he found out that there was no actor opposite him in Amar Akbar Anthony. He hence asked her to be a part of the film. Shabana Azmi said that she doubled with laughter and instantly agreed to do the film.

Shabana Azmi recalled that they shot the film Parvarish and Amar Akbar Anthony simultaneously. Both Parvarish and Amar Akbar Anthony’s cast was quite similar and hence it was convenient to shoot simultaneously. She even stated that Neetu Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, and herself were shooting on two different floors of RK studios. Shabana Azmi went on to say that Amitabh Bachchan and Manmohan Desai would dash from one film to another.

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While talking about the famous drunken monologue of Amitabh Bachchan from Amar Akbar Anthony, she said that he perfected the scene 14 times. She said he put the plaster on his image 14 times and perfected the scene each time. However, it was difficult for the cameras to shoot and hence the scene was taken multiple times.

Shabana Azmi recalled that he did not complain or get frustrated while doing the scene again. After the scene was shot, Amitabh Bachchan and Manmohan Desai skipped over to the next floor and shot the climax scene of Parvarish. Shabana Azmi stated that they had a gala time shooting for Amar Akbar Anthony and Parvarish.

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