Dilip Kumar almost starred in two Yash Chopra films apart from Mashaal

Legendary actor Dilip Kumar, who died on Wednesday, and filmmaker Yash Chopra managed to collaborate just once, for Mashaal (1984), which also starred Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Amrish Puri and Rati Agnihotri.

Dilip Kumar (1922-2021), the name that meant actor

But almost a decade prior, the actor had agreed to act in a film directed by Chopra and produced by FC Mehra. The news was shared by Mehra’s son, filmmaker Umesh Mehra. 

“In the mid-1970s, my father had approached Dilip Kumar for a movie. It was a project being put together; it was in very early stages. It was to be directed by Yash Chopra. It was to be a huge multi-starrer. As per the norm, a token signing amount was given [to Dilip Kumar],” said Umesh Mehra. 

Unfortunately, the film couldn’t happen due to certain circumstances. "It happens. There were many such instances. It never really went beyond the first round of discussion,” added Umesh Mehra.

Interestingly, just a few years after Mashaal, the veteran was signed by Chopra again for Vijay (1988). But this time Dilip Kumar backed out of the project for some reason. He was replaced by Anupam Kher, who had shared this piece of trivia in December 2019 on Twitter.