Recalling the incident, film journalist Hanif Zaveri said, “When Silsila was being discussed, its original cast was Smita Patil and Parveen Babi. But, around that time, Parveen Babi was having some severe health issues due to which Yash Chopra had to remove her from the film. They even removed Smita Patil after that.”

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Jaya Bachchan with Sanjeev Kumar in film Anamika. Express Archive photo

He added, “Yash then thought of casting Rekha and Jaya Bachchan. While Rekha happily signed the film, Jaya Bachchan wasn’t okay with the offer. When Sanjeev Kumar got to know about this, he convinced Jaya Bachchan to sign the film. Finally, the film was made.”

Explaining why Sanjeev Kumar was able to convince Jaya, Hanif said that the two had developed a close bond while working together on Gulzar’s Koshish.

Actress Jaya Bachchan and actor Amitabh Bachchan in film SILSILA. Express archive photo

“Jaya Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar had developed a very strong bond after working together on Gulzar’s film Koshish. The film was originally offered to Moushumi Chatterjee. Later, however, for reasons best known to them, she was replaced and Jaya Bachchan entered the picture. Both Jaya and Sanjeev performed extremely well, with Sanjeev Kumar even bagging a National Award for the same,” Hanif said. He added, “With that bond, Sanjeev treated Jaya Bachchan as his Rakhi sister and Jaya too tied Rakhi to him.”

Jaya Bachchan joined the film with a condition

In an earlier conversation with Vickey Lalwani, while discussing Sanjeev Kumar’s biography, Hanif and Sanjeev’s niece Jigna Shah recalled how the actor helped Chopra convince Jaya to join Silsila.

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Film Star Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha in ‘Silsila”. Express archive photo

“Yash Chopra knew that Sanjeev Kumar thought of Jaya as his sister, so he asked him to put in a good word. She agreed to do the film, but put forward one condition. She said that she would always be present on set, even when she wasn’t required,” Hanif said. Asked why Jaya had proposed the condition, he replied, “Because of Rekha, obviously.” He added, “Amitabh and Rekha were already there, and Yash Chopra desperately wanted Jaya, who was reluctant. But Sanjeev convinced her.”

Despite the enormous buzz surrounding the casting, Silsila did not perform well at the box office.

Amitabh Bachchan encouraged Yash to replace Parveen Babi, Smita Patil

Years later, while speaking to Shah Rukh Khan on the occasion of his 80th birthday, Yash Chopra himself recalled how the casting came about. He said, “I had signed both Smita Patil and Parveen Babi and both of them were to start shooting. Smita was to do the role played by Jaya Bachchan and Parveen that of Rekha. I went to meet Amitji and spoke to him about the film.”

Actor Amitabh Bachchan and director Yash Chopra. Express archive photo

He added, “It was Amitji who asked me if I was happy, content with the casting—Smita Patil, Parveen Babi and Amitabh Bachchan—and if I felt it was the ideal casting. I told him I wanted to cast him, Jayaji and Rekha. He took a long pause and told me that he was fine with the decision but asked me to convince the two actresses.”

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“I had told both of them that koi gadbadi na ho (hope there will be no disturbance on the sets),” Chopra recalled with a chuckle, seemingly referring to the real-life speculation surrounding Amitabh and Rekha and the potential tension between the two actresses.

The change in casting did not go down well with Parveen Babi

Veteran actor Ranjeet recalled the episode in an interview with ANI. “Parveen Babi was my dear friend… she was all alone. She was a beautiful lady. Always smiling. 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 Bahaduri in the film otherwise it was Parveen and Rekha.”

Hanif has also previously spoken about Parveen Babi’s struggles with her mental health and the circumstances surrounding her exit from Silsila. In an interview with Meri Saheli, he claimed that the actress had become deeply attached to her Silsila costumes and even carried them with her to Kashmir, where she was shooting for Kaalia with Amitabh Bachchan.

Film star Rekha, Amitabh Bachchan and Parveen Babi in film SUHAAG. Express archive photo

According to Hanif, people close to Parveen had begun noticing changes in her behaviour.

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“Amitabh Bachchan noticed some changes in Parveen Babi and immediately called Yash Chopra. He asked him to come quickly: ‘Yahan kuch gadbad hai.’ When Yash reached, he saw Parveen had put on some weight which was not sitting well with the character of Silsila,” Hanif said. Chopra, who was already under immense pressure, did not want to take any chances with the film. “He was also worried for her mental health issues. He then decided to remove her from the film,” Hanif said.

According to Hanif, the incident left Parveen with the belief that Amitabh Bachchan had deliberately engineered her removal from the film.

Silsila failed, Arth prevailed

A year later, Mahesh Bhatt released Arth, which went on to become a major success. The film was often compared with Silsila, with speculation that Bhatt had drawn inspiration from Chopra’s film. However, Bhatt later dismissed the comparison.

Speaking to Radio Nasha, Bhatt recalled being warned about the similarities between the two projects while making Arth.

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“When I was making this film, people came to me and said, ‘You are a flop director already and on top of that you are making a film like Arth? Are you aware that Yash Chopra is making a big banner film on the same lines with Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar and Rekha?'” he said.

“I was aware. But, my take was that you don’t have an extramarital affair and dance in tulip gardens. It’s a secret relationship. People keep it a secret and the feeling is filled with guilt. I was so sure about it because I have experienced it myself. When you put a little bit of realness in your film, then audiences relate to it better and sense the truth,” Bhatt added.

Arth was inspired by Mahesh Bhatt’s affair with Parveen Babi

Arth was a semi-autobiographical film written and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Its story drew heavily from his own experiences, including his extramarital relationship with actor Parveen Babi and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage to his first wife, Kiran Bhatt.

The film also explored themes that echoed Parveen Babi’s publicly documented struggles with mental health, adding another layer to the parallels that audiences and commentators have drawn between Arth and the real-life events surrounding Bhatt’s relationship with Babi.