Before Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna became one of Bollywood’s most memorable on-screen pairs, Hera Pheri could have had a very different casting combination.
Prakash Mehra’s 1976 film was reportedly offered to Feroz Khan, who would have appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan. But Khan turned down the project for a reason that had nothing to do with the script, money or his co-star.
He simply did not want to work on Sundays. The unusual detail has resurfaced after filmmaker Sanjay Gupta shared the lesser-known story on social media. According to Gupta, Hera Pheri required Sunday shifts, but Feroz Khan had a personal rule of never working on Sundays.
Feroz Khan Was Offered Hera Pheri With Amitabh Bachchan
By 1976, Amitabh Bachchan was emerging as a major star, while Feroz Khan had already established himself as a leading actor with films such as Arzoo, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Safar and Apradh. Prakash Mehra wanted to bring the two actors together for Hera Pheri. The film eventually became known for the pairing of Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna, but Vinod was not originally the actor intended to play the role that came his way.
According to Sanjay Gupta’s account, Feroz Khan was offered the film but refused because its shooting schedule included Sundays. Gupta said Khan followed the no-Sunday-working rule consistently. That decision eventually changed the casting of the film.
Why Did Feroz Khan Refuse To Work On Sundays?
For Feroz Khan, Sunday was apparently a non-negotiable day off. Sanjay Gupta recently recalled that Khan would not take up a project if it required him to work Sunday shifts. The filmmaker presented the incident as an example of the rules Khan followed in his professional life.
What makes the story more interesting is that Khan himself had spoken about turning down Hera Pheri years before Gupta’s revelation. In a 2001 Filmfare interview, Khan said he had rejected two or three films with Amitabh Bachchan, including Hera Pheri, which eventually became a huge hit. He also spoke about wanting control over his time and being his own boss.
So, the Sunday rule fits into a larger picture of how Khan approached his career rather than appearing to be a one-off decision.
How Did Vinod Khanna Enter Hera Pheri?
Once Feroz Khan declined, the casting changed. Vinod Khanna eventually joined Amitabh Bachchan in Hera Pheri, creating a partnership that would later become one of the most popular actor combinations of the era.
The two played Vijay and Ajay, two friends whose lives become complicated by their families’ past. Directed by Prakash Mehra, the film released in 1976 and became a significant success. Interestingly, another piece of Hera Pheri trivia concerns Khanna’s fee. IMDb’s trivia section records that Khanna agreed to the film only if he was paid Rs 1 lakh more than Amitabh Bachchan. The reported figures were Rs 1.5 lakh for Amitabh and Rs 2.5 lakh for Khanna.
Feroz Khan Had Already Chosen Independence Over Big Opportunities
The Hera Pheri decision becomes more revealing when viewed alongside Khan’s own comments about his career. In his 2001 Filmfare interview, Khan explained that he had moved towards directing because he was not getting the kind of acting opportunities he wanted. He said he chose projects that suited him and wanted enough freedom to think about films, write scripts and make movies.
That approach meant he was prepared to walk away from projects even when they involved major stars. Hera Pheri ultimately became a memorable Amitabh Bachchan-Vinod Khanna film. But its casting history had an unexpected turning point: Feroz Khan was offered the opportunity to share the screen with Amitabh and said no because the production schedule crossed a rule he refused to compromise on.
In hindsight, that single decision helped create one of the most recognisable Amitabh-Vinod Khanna pairings of 1970s Bollywood.