Did Amitabh Bachchan shelve Khabardar with Kamal Haasan out of fear of being overshadowed?

Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan in Geraftaar. (Credit: IMDb)

Kamal Haasan has often proven himself a bona fide Sakalakala Vallavan (master of all arts), showcasing his exceptional abilities as a director, screenwriter, playback singer, and lyricist, in addition to being an extraordinary actor, for which he is best known. In a career spanning almost 66 years, which began at the age of six, he has appeared in more than 230 films across Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Bengali.

Although Kamal made his Hindi debut in Aaina (1974), it was the romantic tragedy Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981) that earned him widespread fame in Bollywood. Interestingly, both movies were helmed by his mentor K Balachander. Kamal subsequently worked in several Hindi films, cementing his position in the industry. He later shared the screen with Bollywood’s “Shahenshah” Amitabh Bachchan in Geraftaar (1985), which also featured Rajinikanth in a cameo role.

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Inside Khabardar: The shelved 1984 Amitabh Bachchan-Kamal Haasan film

However, it reportedly wasn’t Geraftaar that was supposed to mark Kamal Haasan’s first collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan. They had, in fact, even started working together in another film a year prior, according to Times of India. Titled Khabardar, the film was supposed to be directed by Tatineni Rama Rao and produced by Atluri Purnachandra Rao.

According to Mid-Day, the 1984 film revolved around the topic of euthanasia (mercy killing) and featured Amitabh as a doctor and Kamal as a patient. However, Khabardar was eventually shelved after its production was abandoned halfway through.

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Why Kamal Haasan refused to revive the shelved film

In a 1997 interview with Filmfare, Kamal Haasan spoke about the project and revealed why it was dropped. The actor noted that, although its makers approached him again after a few years, requesting his cooperation in completing the film, Kamal turned it down because he was no longer interested. During the conversation, however, the actor referred to the film as Kanoon Ke Kathere Mein.

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“I think it was supposed to be called Kanoon Ke Kathere Mein. I must have shot 20-25 days for it. Since T Rama Rao was directing it, I guess more than half the film was complete. Most of my portion was over. Then something happened… I was told that they (the makers) didn’t like the film. Since I’d already been paid half my remuneration, I said, ‘fair enough.’ Four years back, they wanted to revive the project. But I have a different face now, and I’m a different actor now. I wouldn’t want to pursue the kind of acting or story that I did some years ago,” he said.

Amitabh Bachchan with Kamal Haasan on the sets of Kalki 2. (Credit: Tumblr/@srbachchan)

Did Amitabh Bachchan fear being overshadowed by Kamal Haasan?

However, legendary filmmaker-actor K Bhagyaraj once made a shocking claim, which differed from Kamal Haasan’s version, as to why the project was eventually axed. He alleged that the film was abandoned because Amitabh Bachchan felt Kamal’s character would overshadow his own.

“They shot 10,000 feet of film, but then a problem arose. According to the script, Kamal Haasan’s character had to die. The story would only work if Kamal’s character died. However, if that happened, Amitabh Bachchan’s character would seem insignificant, and all the credit would go to Kamal. If they changed the story and kept Kamal alive, the film wouldn’t have the same impact, and might not be a hit,” he shared during a conversation with Hindu Tamil Thisai.

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He continued, “It was clear that if Kamal died, the film would be a hit, but Amitabh wouldn’t get much recognition. Noticing this, Amitabh told the makers, ‘I’m sorry.’ He said he didn’t want to spoil the name he has made over the years for just one film. He didn’t want to risk his long career.”

Bhagyaraj added, “He told Purnachandra Rao to come up with another project and offered as many call sheets as needed. Although Amitabh wanted the film to be a success, he didn’t want his name to be tarnished after all the hard work he had put into his career. He said he had discussed this with his wife, Jaya Bachchan (née Bhaduri), as well. Thus, the project was ultimately dropped.”