Back then, Yash Chopra had recalled when he had told Amitabh Bachchan that he wants to cast Jaya Bachchan and Rekha in ‘Silsila’ and how scared he was as ‘it was real life coming into reel life.’
It is now that infidelity has become common across the globe, but in 1981, Yash Chopra managed to represent extramarital affair in such a way that it became a cult film, even though it was ahead of its time. But it was the casting of the film, Silsila that had grabbed the headlines back then. By the end of the 70s, Rekha and Amitabh’s love affair had made it to the cover of most magazines. Though Amitabh was already married to his Abhimaan co-star, Jaya Bhaduri, his romance with Rekha had made its way to the industry grapevine.