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The Past Blast: Amitabh Bachchan and Lilliput, the epic tall vs short fight planned by Subhash Ghai in Devaa..
When the Subhash Ghai and Amitabh Bachchan combo fell through because of creative differences. What went wrong? What was the plan? Find out
Amitabh Bachchan had emerged the biggest superstar of Bollywood by the start of 80s whereas Subhash Ghai was stepping towards becoming one of Hindi cinema’s most bankable name in the commercial space. With both acing in their respective field in the same zone of cinema, one wonders as to why the two never collaborated on the same film. But well, in the 1980s, the two giants almost worked together on a mega entertainer, titled Devaa. The announcement had taken the nation by storm and like all films back in that era, Subhash Ghai had hosted a grand Mahurat for the film.
After the Mahurat, the makers shot for some action scenes, did poster shoots for the magazines as also a dance number with Amitabh Bachchan. But well, just 2 weeks into the shoot and there was a sudden pause to the film. The ones from that era inform that both Big B and Subhash Ghai could not align to each other’s style of working, thereby leading to creative difference and eventual fall out. The shoot was halted mid-way, and ever since then, the teaming up for two giants has been a dream for every cine lover.
The filmmaker had decided to cast Lilliput as the main antagonist of Devaa fighting Amitabh Bachchan. The idea was to make it a battle between Lambu Ji (Big B) and Chotu Ji (Lilliput)
While Devaa was announced with a lot of fanfare, not many are aware about the negative lead of the film. Both Subhash Ghai and Amitabh Bachchan believed in the concept of larger-than-life villain, as that would make the hero even more powerful. For the 1980s, Ghai had come up with a unique idea. The filmmaker had decided to cast Lilliput as the main antagonist of Devaa fighting Amitabh Bachchan. The idea was to make it a battle between Lambu Ji (Big B) and Chotu Ji (Lilliput). Those unaware, Lilliput is a little person, known for midget characters, more so in the comic space in Hindi film industry.
The ones who have read the script say that the negative lead of Devaa would have ended up being among the most menacing characters of Bollywood, but as they say, every film has it’s destiny and Devaa was not meant to be made. Years later, we saw Milap Zaveri make Marjaavaan pitting a midget sized Ritesh Deshmukh against the tall, Siddharth Malhotra. We wonder, if he was inspired by the unfulfilled dream of Subhash Ghai in Devaa…
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