Amitabh Bachchan Could Have Become Farooq Sheikh. But He Could Not
A few days back a friend who happens to be a fan of Dharmendra narrated the story behind Gulzar’s Devdas, a film that never came into being. The film was reportedly shelved after ten days of filming. The gossip was that the producer, who was a fan of the then superstar Rajesh Khanna, wanted Gulzar to replace Dharmendra with Khanna. When Gulzar refused to comply the money stopped flowing in and the film had to be shelved. This incident reminded me of the story that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali had narrated to me. It was about his first film Gaman.
It was a long time back when I had first met Ali. In that hot sweaty May afternoon of 2012, as I sat amidst the noisy portraits of Rekha and Farooq Sheikh adorning the walls of his Mehrauli office, I couldn’t think of anything but my own nervousness. Today, when I think about that afternoon, along with those vivid images, come to mind the several stories that he had shared with me. And those story boards of Gaman, Umrao Jaan and Zooni, that he had opened in front of me with the enthusiasm of a newcomer. Flipping through the pages of those hand sketched story boards was like flipping through the golden pages of history.
Gaman had first fallen into the lap of Amitabh Bachchan, who was Ali’s travel companion during the director’s days of struggle. Bachchan used to drop Ali to his place of work which was close to the studio the actor was filming in. Ali had told him about the project he was working on, his debut film, and expressed his desire to work with him. Bachchan at first willingly agreed. And for a good three months kept delaying the film. Before coming out clean with his apprehensions. Bachchan told Ali that he couldn’t play the part, it would do harm to his image of an angry young man, an image that evidently comes close to that of an almost superhero. It was then that the role went to Sheikh who perhaps was the perfect cast, more believable, more real, more subtle, and more close to the character than Bachchan could have ever been. And so Bachchan’s loss became Sheikh’s gain. Gaman laid the foundation of Sheikh’s humble but substantial career, placing him in the company of serious actors, who certainly were worth their salt.