When Amitabh Bachchan and Subhash Ghai almost collaborated in 1987: Film historian Dilip Thakur opens up about Deva’s abrupt end – Exclusive

The iconic collaboration between Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai almost materialized in 1987 with the film Deva. Film historian Dilip Thakur, in a conversation with ETimes, shared fascinating insights into the grand beginnings and unfortunate shelving of this much-anticipated project.
On January 24, 1987, the mahurat of Deva was held at the Leela Centaur Hotel in Mumbai, coinciding with Subhash Ghai’s birthday. The event was the talk of the town, with a dress code of formal suits mentioned on the invitation card – an unexpected requirement for many middle-class journalists of the time.
“Subhash Ghai was a Showman director of his time. Amitabh Bachchan donned a Pathani look for the mahurat event. He looked very attractive in that attire. After the much-talked-about mahurat, Deva’s first shooting schedule began at Filmistan Studio in Mumbai. Guests and the press were not allowed on the set. So, everyone was curious to know what Ghai was making with Bachchan,” Thakur recalled.
He continued, “After that, Pahlaj Nihalani cast Shatrughan Sinha in a film titled Deva O Deva and did its mahurat. The famous scene of Bachchan where he talks to God; Nihalani created a similar scene and shot it with Sinha. Nihalani arranged mahurats of three films that day. Shakti Kapoor was playing the lead in one of those. Bachchan gave its mahurat clap in between Deva’s shooting. That’s when people got to know about Bachchan’s look in Deva.”

Meanwhile, the shooting of Deva stalled. Details about the film’s heroine, villain, or subsequent schedules remained undisclosed, fueling rumours. “One rumour was that Bachchan did not like Ghai’s way of working. And Ghai didn’t like Bachchan giving him suggestions. It was rumoured that the film was shelved because of the clashes of their egos. But neither of them ever talked about why the film got shelved,” Thakur stated.
Despite the film’s untimely demise, a photo of Bachchan and Ghai on the sets of Deva was later included in a small book about Ghai’s directorial journey released by Mukta Arts during the success of Pardes.

Thakur also mentioned that Deva wasn’t the only film Bachchan lost during that period. Tinnu Anand’s Shinaak and S. Ramanathan’s Rudra were among other shelved projects. Reflecting on these lost opportunities, Thakur said, “I think cinema’s history could have been different had those films got made. Ghai and Bachchan never worked together again. If Ghai could direct Dilip Kumar in three films – Vidhaata, Karma, Saudagar, why couldn’t he direct Amitabh Bachchan even in one film?”