Sanjeev Kumar has played a variety of roles in his career and he was known to be one of the best actors that Indian cinema saw. He is still remembered for movies like ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Angoor’, ‘Trishul’, ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’ amidst a long list of movies. He had played Amitabh Bachchan’s father in ‘Trishul’ and in a recent interview, Sanjeev Kumar’s niece has revealed that he had demanded more than Bachchan for the role. In this interview, veteran journalist and author who has penned a biography on Sanjeev Kumar, Hanif Zaveri was accompanied by Sanjeev’s niece Jigna Shah. When asked if Sanjeev Kumar had actually demanded more than Bachchan for ‘Trishul’, Jigna said during a chat with Vickey Lalwani, “I heard the story from Vikram Bhatt because his father and Sanjeev Kumar were good friends. They were in London having a drink together and he got a call for ‘Trishul’. He was told that he had to play Amitabh Bachchan’s father. So, he quoted, ‘Main toh badaa amount lunga’. He kept the phone and Bhatt was like, ‘Are you insane? Amitabh Bachchan is the number 1 hero at the moment and you are asking more than him?’ He replied saying, ‘usko bhi toh Amitabh Bachchan ka baap chahiye aur mujhse badaa baap iss industry mein koi nai hai’.”
Further giving the exact amount which he charged, Jigna said, “Unhone Rs 12 lakh liye the aur Amitji Rs 9 lakh pe kaam kar rahe the us time pe. (He charged Rs 12 lakh while Amitji’s fees that time was Rs 9 lakh).” Hanif Zaveri added to it and said, “Yeh Trishul ki baat chali toh toh I have to say the three-piece suit which he was wearing in the film, he loved them so much. He said, I’ve always worn pyjama kurta and I loved this suit. So, he said, ‘mere joh fees hai usmein se suit ke paise cut karke mujhe dedo.’ But Gulshan Rai just presented it to him’ (He loved the three-piece suits which he was wearing in Trishul. He said, ‘All my life I’ve just worn kurta pyjama, so give these to me and cut the money for these from my fees. But Gulshan Rai just presented it to him).” During this chat, Jigna and Hanif Zaveri also revealed that Sanjeev Kumar had suffered one heart attack at the age of 38. He did not want to marry someone has he sensed that he wouldn’t live long and didn’t want to spoil someone’s life.
