Do you know Shahenshah writer Inder Raj Anand created 23 pages of climax dialogues in hospital day before he died?

Amitabh Bachchan and Shahenshah are synonymous to each other. Despite 35 years of the film’s release, it continues to be remembered for its dialogues and story, both written by late Inder Raj Anand. But hardly do we know Inder was on his death bed before the climax could be shot and died only a day after he actually delivered the script of the climax to his son, Tinnu Anand. Also read: Amitabh Bachchan reveals his ‘hands, legs shake’ when he comes on KBC 14 sets

Directed by Tinnu Anand, the film featured Amitabh Bachchan as police officer Inspector Vijay Shrivastav, who moonlighted as Shahenshah without disclosing his real identity. Shehanshah also starred Meenakshi Sheshadri, Pran, Kader Khan, Amrish Puri and Prem Chopra.

Director Tinnu Anand once told Cinestaan in an interview, “When I went to the hospital, my set was coming up, while the dialogues for the climax were not complete. I was worried as I wanted him to finish the entire 23 pages of dialogue, all to be spoken by one actor in the court. It was a gigantic effort.”

Talking about how the climax scene was written by Inder Raj Anand in his last days in a hospital, he said, “He (Inder) saw the worried look on my face. He called me to his side, oxygen mask on, and said, ‘don’t worry son, I will not ditch you. I won’t let people say that a father has left his son down by not finishing his climax’. You won’t believe it, on the last day, just before he breathed his last, he sat down with my assistant in the hospital and he put a full stop to the climax.”

Amitabh Bachchan’s wife and actor Jaya Bachchan is credited for the story of Shehanshah but Tinnu denies the same. He said, “It was all a lie. It was a just a matter of convenience. I can’t tell you the reason. It’s a known fact that the story was mine. I was the one who surrendered the title to Jaya ji.”

Shehanshah became the second highest grossing film of 1988. Among its most famous dialogues are “Rishtey mein to hum tumhare baap hote hai, naam hai Shahenshah”.