Over the years, the track ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ from Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman’s ‘Don’ has gained the status of an iconic classic. The track featuring catchy lyrics and peppy beats soon emerged as a chartbuster. Several fans went to theatres again and again just for the track. However, veteran star Zeenat Aman recently revealed that the song was originally cancelled for being ‘too frivolous.’ However, as things played out, it made it to the film, ultimately becoming a banger.
Zeenat Aman often takes to social media to share anecdotes from her personal and professional life. In a recent post, she revealed how the track came to be a part of ‘Don.’ Sharing a clip of the song, she wrote, “If you work in a team industry and are blessed with a bit of luck, you may get to play a small part in creating enduring creative and cultural magic. Rumour has it that Khaike Paan Banaraswala wasn’t originally meant to be included in Don. It was created for Dev Anand’s Banarasi Babu but had been rejected as too frivolous. Meanwhile, Director Chandra Barot had completed his action thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan in a double-role.” However, he found that the second half of the film needed some relief from the intensity of the plot.
Revealing further details, Aman wrote that the track emerged as a surprise hit. It took several days to film the song and Big B had to consume huge quantities of paan. “It took several days to shoot this number. And what I remember most acutely is the quantity of paan that Mr. Bachchan consumed and the sheer energy he brought to set. He was one of just two male leads at the time who was considerably taller than my 5 feet 8 inches. And so it’s a rare song in which the director had me dancing in “proper” high heels.”
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Reminiscing about the number, Zeenat also applauded the recreated version of the song for SRK and Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Don.’ In the version, Shah Rukh played the titular role while PeeCee essayed his love interest, Roma, previously played by Aman. The legendary star commented that the new version was just as groovy as their original.
After Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh is the next actor steeping in the shoes of Bollywood’s iconic character, ‘Don.’ Singh will essay the role in ‘Don 3’ taking over from Badshah, SRK.