Shatrughan Sinha opens up on rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan: 'It was not intentional'

In Pic: Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha

Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha, the two iconic heroes of the '90s, gifted Indian cinema with some of its biggest hits. The two were friends since their struggling days, but a rift emerged during the shoot of one of their films. Addressing the rivalry, Shatrughan Sinha has recently called it unintentional.

In a conversation with Zoom, Sinha opened up about an incident from the sets of 'Kala Patthar' where his rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan began, Sinha shared, 'It was not intentional. We were shooting amicably. There was a fight scene between me and Amitabh, choreographed by fight master Shetty. While fighting, at one point, my stunt double fell, and Amitabh's stunt double put a spade on my double's neck. I was watching all of it from a corner because I don't interfere in a film's shooting.'

While discussing the incident, Sinha mentioned, 'We have been friends since our struggling days. But during those times, whether it was due to romance or thrill, something happened. I told them this was not in the script, but Amitabh's team approved of the scene.'

The actor recalled that the discussion went on for about 4 to 6 hours, and eventually, the scenario was changed. 'I told them, ‘ye toh baat hui nahi thi (this is not what we discussed). What if Shashi Kapoor takes longer to come to stop the fight, my character will be killed. Then what is the point of him returning after the interval? Ab isko siddhant bole ya arrogance bole... aur vo defeat na hone vala character toh defeat ho gaya yahan pe... ispe 4-6 ghanta hua, kuch logon ko pasand nahi aayi ye baat (Now call it principles or arrogance, but the undefeatable character was defeated. The shooting was stalled for 4-6 hours, and a few people didn't like it). Ultimately, they changed it, and the decision about who is stronger between us could not be made, which was happening in the earlier scenario,' Shashi shared.

Post 'Kala Patthar,' the duo, known for hits like 'Dostana' (1980), 'Shaan' (1980), and 'Naseeb' (1981), never appeared together on screen again. Although they signed multiple films together, Sinha walked away from all of them. 'A lot of films were being made, but I had to amicably leave some of them. I also returned the signing amount to a few of them,' the actor revealed.