Shatrughan Sinha reveals about the time when he said ‘no’ to Deewaar and Sholay – Times of India

Interesting conversations and dialogues often give rise to rare insights. One such dialogue that took place at the Sahitya AajTak Kolkata 2023 was with Shatrughan Sinha when he was introduced to the audience as a special guest and invitee.
Some explosive revelations were made. Shotgun as Shatrughan Sinha is popularly known, announced to the audience that his two major regrets in life were his refusal to do Deewaar and Sholay. Two films which were later given to Amitabh Bachchan and catapulted Big B to unprecedented fame.
Shatrughan Sinha explained how this came to be: He said that the script for Deewaar was with him for six months, but because of a ‘difference in opinion’ he had to step down. Sholay too had been contemplated with him in the lead at first, but eventually his role went to Amitabh Bachchan. Shatrughan revealed that during that time he was extremely busy and he could not give them suitable dates for shooting.
Shatrughan then went on to talk about other things, but the audience could clearly feel his major sense of regret at turning down these two films. The interviewer then asked him whether there are ego clashes between actors. This perhaps was an obvious reference to his past feelings towards Big B. Shatrughan was candid with his answer. He admitted that everyone is human and such experiences are bound to affect people.