Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan shot his famous drunk scene in Amar Akbar Antony 14 times, Shabana Azmi revealed. The actress, who is paired opposite Vinod Khanna in the film, recalled witnessing the filming of the scene and said that Big B was asked do 14 takes. She added that it wasn’t his fault. Amar Akbar Antony was directed by Manmohan Desai. The scene Shabana talked about appeared shortly after the song ‘My Name is Antony Gonsalves’ in the film.
Speaking with Zoom TV, Shabana said, “We were filming at RK Films, and there were two shootings happening simultaneously with the same actors and the same director: Parvarish and Amar Akbar Anthony. Actors were just changing clothes and going from one set to the other. Can you imagine something like that today? I was so fascinated by it."
“There was this one scene where Amitabh was putting tape on his mirror reflection, and he had to do 14 takes because of no fault of his own. But the concentration with which he did it was stunning to watch," the Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani star added.
Amar Akbar Antony starred Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi, Neetu Singh and Pran in the lead. The film was being shot simultaneously with another Manmohan Desai film, Parvarish. “I had also worked with Manmohan Desai in Parvarish. In fact, we were shooting it simultaneously. I absolutely enjoyed being with Neetu Singh (in Parvarish), and we played sisters who are thieves. There were also, of course, Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. I had a ball," Shabana said.
In the same interview, Shabana revealed that Manmohan offered her the role in Amar Akbar Antony as a favour. “He asked me for a favour, noting that he was going to produce a film for the first time and wanted me to be a part of it. I said ‘done’. But he immediately interjected and continued, ‘Listen first, there is no role for you per se. But (if I don’t do this), that Vinod Khanna will pester me, asking why he doesn’t have a heroine while Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor do.’ It was so typical of Manmohan Desai that he spoke just as it is, and that’s what endeared me to him," she said.
Amar Akbar Antony emerged as one of the biggest hits of 1977 and continues to get love from fans. The film was re-released in 2022.
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