Veteran actor Ranjeet recently revealed that Parveen Babi was the first choice for the 1981 film Silsila. The movie featured Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan as the main leads. However, Parveen Babu was later replaced by Jaya Bachchan in the film.

Why was Parveen Babi replaced in Silsila?

In an interview with ANI, Ranjeet opened up about his bond with Parveen Babi and said she was upset after she was not cast in a famous film. "She (Parveen Babi) was my dear friend… she was all alone. She was a beautiful lady. Always smiling and we used to call her ‘fawada’ because of her teeth….Once she was very upset and she was crying. I asked her ‘Kya hua Parveen’. We were in Kashmir and I don’t mind quoting because it’s a fact. A film was made, ‘Silsila’ and Parveen Babi was the original heroine but she was asked to leave. And because of a gimmick controversy, they cast Rekha and Jaya Bhaduri in the film otherwise it was Parveen and Rekha," he said.

Nevertheless, Parveen Babi has been a part of several iconic films like Namak Halaal, Suhaag and others over the years. Today marks her 70th birth anniversary. For the unversed, the actress passed away in 2005.

Ranjeet opens up about losing great films

Ranjeet also said that the film industry has lost many iconic actors who shaped the Hindi cinema. "Many actors have gone. Shashi Kapoor, I used to work with all these guys. Dutt sahib, Raaj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna. Every day we were together. Char-panch hero hote the, char-panch villain hote the (there were four-five heroes and four-five villians)." Gopal Bedi, popularly known by his screen name Ranjeet, carved a niche for himself in the film industry and became one of the most popular villains of all time.

(Inputs from ANI)