Rishi Kapoor's first interpretation of 'Amar Akbar Anthony'

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Amar Akbar Anthony, the iconic film of Manmohan Desai had almost missed Rishi Kapoor playing the role of adorable Akbar in the film, courtesy -  technology in the form of trunk calls. Rishi Kapoor who was shooting for ‘Laila Majnu’ in Bikaner, was playing snooker with the cast & crew after the day’s shoot when he got a lightning call from Mumbai. Lightning call being the sign of an emergency as people hardly called each other unless needed, it left Rishi Kapoor and the unit wondering the reason behind the call. When he picked up the call from the reception of the hotel, Rishi Kapoor’s assistant from Mumbai had Manmohan Desai with him who wished to talked to Mr. Kapoor. Manmohan Desai who made ‘Dharam Veer’ had an impression in Rishi Kapoor’s mind of being a director who can literally make ‘anything’. When he told Rishi Kapoor on the phone about his wish to cast him as ‘Akbar’ in Amar Akbar Anthony, Rishi Kapoor who only got the word ‘Akbar’ due to poor network connections, imagined it to be a period drama and Akbar being the Mughal Emperor - Akbar. Astonished with the fact, Rishi Kapoor expressed his concern of playing the role which his grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor has already played in the cult movie - Mughal - e - Azam. He assumed Anthony in the scenario of Cleopatra, Amar being a person who would play a flute and him being asked to play the emperor thus rejecting the role. With both the sides not being able hear clearly, they decided to talk when Rishi Kapoor gets back to Mumbai. It was when he landed in Mumbai and met the director, he understood that it was Amar Akbar Anthony, which Manmohan Desai desired to make. Rishi Kapoor eventually agreed to be a part of it, which is now a well acclaimed film and of course we can’t imagine Akbar being played by anyone else other than the charming Rishi Kapoor. 

Source: Comedy Nights with Kapil