Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan, once considered close allies and contemporaries during the golden era of Bollywood, eventually saw their friendship fade as the dynamics of fame and film industry politics drove a wedge between them.
In a revealing past interview, Shatrughan Sinha opened up about the subtle yet undeniable shift in their relationship, linking it to the rise of Amitabh Bachchan’s superstardom and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that influenced casting decisions.
According to Shatrughan Sinha, there was a time when Amitabh’s early films struggled at the box office, while both of them were still carving out their individual spaces in the industry. However, Amitabh Bachchan’s fortunes soon changed. With one hit after another, he swiftly rose to stardom, ultimately earning the status of a megastar. Shatrughan Sinha, meanwhile, continued to do well in his own right but he pointed out that not everything about that period was well known to the public.
He recalled that he had initially been offered the role that eventually went to Amitabh in Sholay, directed by Ramesh Sippy. At that time, Shatrughan Sinha was increasingly being cast as the lead hero and did not feel the role suited his career trajectory, so he declined. Similarly, he claimed that Deewar, penned by Salim-Javed, was also originally intended for him. He said that the script had been lying with one of his producers for a considerable period. However, after a disagreement between the producer and writer Salim Khan, the script was reclaimed and eventually handed over to Yash Chopra who cast Amitabh in the now-iconic role.
As Amitabh Bachchan’s career surged, Shatrughan Sinha observed that their interactions gradually diminished. Though they continued to work together in films like Naseeb and Shaan, Shatrughan Sinha asserted that Amitabh Bachchan was not keen on sharing screen space with him. These professional tensions, he believed, slowly started affecting their personal bond.
The final breaking point, according to Shatrughan Sinha, came with the film Kaala Patthar. He claimed that Amitabh Bachchan was strongly opposed to his involvement in the project. Despite that, Shatrughan Sinha went ahead and played a key role in the film. During its production, their relationship reportedly became so strained that they barely exchanged words on set. Nonetheless, Shatrughan Sinha’s performance in Kaala Patthar received critical acclaim, as did his role in Dostana. He said that it was after these films that Amitabh Bachchan made an unspoken decision to never work with him again.
What had once been a celebrated friendship between two towering figures of Indian cinema gradually gave way to competition and quiet estrangement, a familiar narrative in an industry where success often reshapes even the closest of bonds.
