In 1981, Yash Chopra decided to make Silsila—film centred on infidelity—at a time when he was under immense professional pressure. A string of his films, including Kaala Patthar, had failed at the box office, and he could not afford another setback. He initially cast Parveen Babi and Smita Patil alongside Amitabh Bachchan for the film. However, just days before the shoot was scheduled to begin, Chopra dropped both leading ladies and decided to approach Rekha and Jaya Bachchan instead.While Rekha readily agreed to be part of the film, Jaya was reportedly uncomfortable with the idea, largely because of the headlines surrounding Amitabh and Rekha, who were rumoured to be romantically involved at the time. The film eventually became possible after Sanjeev Kumar intervened and convinced Jaya to come on board.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.” Jaya Bachchan with Sanjeev Kumar in film Anamika. Express Archive photoHe 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 conditionIn 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.Story continues below this ad