Silsila Hindi Romantic Movie 1981

Silsila, a cinematic examination of an extra-marital affair, was made more remarkable by director Yash Chopra's casting coup - he signed Amitabh Bachchan, his wife Jaya and actress Rekha in the roles that formed the three angles of the film's love triangle, one which appeared to mirror a rumoured real life triangle involving the three actors.

Silsila is a 1981 Hindi romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Rekha and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, with Shashi Kapoor in a special appearance. The movie is said to be loosely inspired by the alleged real-life love triangle of its three stars, Amitabh-Jaya-Rekha, the most talked about love affair back then.On his last birthday, Yash Chopra revealed that he originally wanted to cast Parveen Babi and Smita Patil opposite Bachchan, but after consulting him, he chose to cast Jaya Bhaduri and Rekha in their respective roles.

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan as Amit Malhotra

Jaya Bachchan as Shobha Malhotra

Rekha as Chandni

Shashi Kapoor as Sqdr. Leader Shekhar Malhotra (Special Appreance)

Sanjeev Kumar as Dr. V.K. Anand

Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Inspector Kulbhushan

Sudha Chopra as Shobha's mother

Sushma Seth as Actress

Directed by Yash Chopra

Produced by Yash Chopra

Written by Mrs. Preeti Bedi,Yash Chopra,Sagar Sarhadi,Romesh Sharma

Release Date   29 July 1981

Interesting Facts

Silsila was the last film that Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha made together. The actress had a cameo in R Balki's Shamitabh this year, which starred Mr Bachchan, but the former co-stars had no scenes together.

This was also the last film to feature Rekha with Amitabh Bachchan, putting an end to this popular on-screen pair and their rumored off-screen affair. The film did only average business at the box office, faring much below expectations. Since its release, however, the film has gained a strong cult following and is today considered a classic in its treatment of the themes of abandonment and familial responsibility. Producer Yash Chopra considered this film and Lamhe his favourites. The movie's music became a "superhit" upon the release of the film and continues to be as popular.

Sanjeev Kumar had earlier refused to be a part of the film as that would mean that he would have to play second fiddle to Amitabh Bachchan for the third time after Sholay and Trishul. However, Yash Chopra insisted on narrating him the story of the film. Halfway through the narration of the story when they reached the scene where Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh , Rekha and Jaya are sitting in a restaurant and Amitabh hits the dance floor with Rekha and not Jaya, Sanjeev asked Yash to stop. He called his office and directed them to allot dates for the film. Reportedly, he had always enjoyed working with Jaya as he felt that she helped in enhancing his acting ability and matched his performance. 

The original star cast was Amitabh Bachchan, Padmini Kolhapure and Parveen Babi. But then there were several cast changes for this movie. Later on Smita Patil replaced Padmini Kolhapure. But at the end by the recommendation by Amitji, Jaya Bhaduri and Rekha were finalized.

The Holi song "Rang Barse" was sung by Amitabh Bachchan and was composed by his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Musicians 'Shiv Kumar Sharma' and 'Hari Prasad Chaurasia''s debut as the composer. The duo is formerly known as Shiv-Hari.

This is the only movie in which Amitabh Bachchan is the younger brother of Shashi Kapoor. All their other movies in which they are brothers, Amitabh Bachchan is the elder one.