Veteran Bollywood diva Zeenat Aman recalled the iconic song 'Khaike Paan Banaras Wala', which was originally created for Dev Anand's "Banarasi Babu". She shared that what she remembers most acutely is the quantity of paan megastar Amitabh Bachchan consumed for the song.
Zeenat took to Instagram, sharing a video of the song, which featured in the 1978 film "Don", starring Big B in dual roles alongside Zeenat, Pran, Iftekhar, Om Shivpuri, and Satyen Kappu.
"If you work in a team industry and are blessed with a bit of luck, you may get to play a small part in creating enduring creative and cultural magic," she wrote.
The actress said that the song was rejected for the 1973 film "Banarasi Babu" starring Dev Anand for being too "frivolous".
"Rumour has it that 'Khaike Paan Banaraswala' wasn't originally meant to be included in Don. It was created for Dev Anand's Banarasi Babu but had been rejected as too frivolous."
She then shared that "Don" director Chandra Barot completed his action thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan in a double role but found that the second half needed some relief from its intensity.
"And so, long after the film had wrapped, the cast and crew arrived at Mehboob Studio to shoot a new video."
"With crackling, innuendo-laden lyrics, an irresistible beat, Kishore Kumar on vocals, and a spirited performance by Mr. Bachchan, 'Khaike Paan Banaraswala' emerged as a surprise hit."
She added: "It took several days to shoot this number. What I remember most acutely is the quantity of paan Mr. Bachchan consumed and the sheer energy he brought to set."
"He was one of just two male leads at the time who was considerably taller than my 5 feet 8 inches," she noted. "It's a rare song where I danced in 'proper' high heels."
Zeenat recalled how Kishore Kumar's rendition took India by storm:
"Goodness! The song seemed to take the country by storm at that time. It was always on airwaves with reports suggesting audiences were hitting theatres again just for this number."
The song later appeared in Farhan Akhtar's 2011 "Don 2", featuring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Shah Rukh Khan.