Reports are flying fast and thick that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan will come together for the remake of the 1973 classic, Abhimaan. The Hrishikesh Mukherjee directorial, which starred Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan, was a sensitive, realistic portrayal of the life of a couple that is torn when the wife becomes more successful than the husband.
Here’s 10 things you need to know about the original film, whose remake could see the husband-wife team coming together after their Raavan, in 2010…
- The film had originally been titled Raag Ragini.
2. The story of a couple was said to be inspired by the troubled marriage of sitar maestros Ravi Sankar and his first wife, Annapurna Devi. However, author Raju Bharatan also claimed that the film's story was based on the life of singer Kishore Kumar and his first wife, Ruma Ghosh.
3. The scene where the couple comes together in an emotional reunion and sing a duet, is considered a masterpiece of direction by Hrishida.
4. The film was also said to be a turning point for Bindu, who, in a break from the vamps and cabaret dancers she generally essayed, played a sympathetic character for the first time.
5. For some strange reason, Abhimaan achieved far greater popularity in Sri Lanka and was screened continuously for 590 days in the same cinema, Empire, Colombo.
6. The leading pair Amitabh and Jaya had invested their own money in the project. This fact was confirmed by Bachchan on his blog, as he wrote, “Amiya - the production name was our production. Ami from Amitabh and Ya from Jaya and our respective secretaries were looking after the nitty gritties while we worked. But as is with most such productions, things went out of hand and we ended up with nothing. The rights all still belong to 'don't know who,' perhaps one of the secretaries.” Imagine that!
7. The lead pair married just before the film released.
8. Amitabh and Jaya have always been fulsome in their praise of the film. Earlier this year, Bachchan wrote, “And we have 44 years of the film that brought Jaya and me together for a most memorable creative in our respective careers. The excellence of Hrishi Da, the music of S.D. Burman, the master and the support of some of the most brilliant talent in its writing.”
9. Jaya Bachchan had won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1974 for Abhimaan. No, Amitabh did not pick up any trophies for this one, though Asrani and Bindu had been nominated in the Supporting categories.
10. Forty-four years later, the mystique continues. Bachchan had shared, “There are many inputs for the film but some other day shall go into the finer points of the thinking that went behind in Hrishi da's mind.” Karan Johar had been quick to respond, “One of my favourite films Amit uncle...I cry every time I see it...the most memorable music and performances...”
Truly, if the junior Bachchan couple is looking to make a comeback together, they needn’t look further than Abhimaan.
