Zeenat Aman reveals how ‘Khaike Paan Banaras Wala’ wasn’t originally composed for Don

A still from Khaike Paan Banaras Wala

Veteran Bollywood diva Zeenat Aman recalled the iconic song ‘Khaike Paan Banaras Wala', which the actress says was originally created for Dev Anand's "Banarasi Babu". The icon also shared that what she remembers most acutely is the quantity of paan megastar Amitabh Bachchan consumed for the song.

Zeenat took to Instagram, where she shared a video of the song, which originally featured in 1978 film "Don", starring Big B in dual roles, alongside Zeenat, Pran, Iftekhar, Om Shivpuri and Satyen Kappu in supporting roles.

She wrote: "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."

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 had completed his action thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan in a double-role, but found that the second half of the film needed some relief from the intensity of the plot line.

"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, and what I remember most acutely is the quantity of paan that 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, and so it's a rare song in which the director had me dancing in "proper" high heels."

Zeenat recalled how the song, which was sung by Kishore Kumar, took the country by storm.

"Goodness! The song seemed to take the country by storm at that time. It was always on the airwaves and some media reports suggested that audience members were hitting the theatres again and again just to catch this one number."

The song was then featured in Farhan Akhtar's 2011 "Don 2", starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Shah Rukh Khan.

"It was later reenacted by SRK and Priyanka Chopra in Farhan Akhtar's 2006 remake of the film. And "their" number is just as catchy and upbeat as "ours" was! I enjoyed a little nostalgia this Tuesday morning, and you can too. Khul jaaye band akal ka taala!"