Mumbai, June 21 (IANS) It is extremely difficult to imagine any actor other than Amrish Puri in the iconic role of Mogambo. But did you know that if things had gone a little differently, Anupam Kher would have played Mogambo in “Mr India”.

It was Anil Kapoor because of whom Anupam Kher did not get the part.

The veteran actor made the shocking revelation as Anil’s daughter, actress Sonam Kapoor, and his nephew, Arjun Kapoor, appeared as guests on his show, “The Anupam Kher Show – Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai.”

Sharing the incident, Kher recalled that Javed (Javed Akhtar) told him that Amrish Puri would be playing Mogambo in the movie.

“I felt really bad,” he said.

Over the years, Kher ended up becoming very good friends with Anil, and he finally confessed that it was he who got Kher out of the movie.

“See, I did a good think na. Amrish Ji did such a fantastic job as Mogambo,” Anil told Kher.

Mogambo continues to remain one of the most iconic villains in the history of Indian cinema. His famous dialogue, “Mogambo Khush Hua”, has been inked in the memory of movie buffs.

Made under the direction of Shekhar Kapur and produced jointly by Boney Kapoor and Surinder Kapoor under the Narsimha Enterprises banner, “Mr India features Anil, Sridevi, and Amrish Puri as the core cast.

The film shares the story of Arun Verma (Played by Anil), a humble violinist and philanthropist, who stumbles upon a special cloaking device. In order to pay his debts, Arun rents out his house to journalist Seema Sahni (Played by Sridevi) and falls in love with her. However, these two are unaware that Mogambo (Played by Amrish Puri) has plans to conquer India.

“Mr. India” has become a milestone in Hindi cinema.

–IANS

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