Haathi Mere Saathi, starring Rajesh Khanna and Tanuja, was a cult classic. The 1971 film got many renditions in the past, and now Rana Daggubati along with Vishnu Vishal, Zoya Hussain, and Shriya Pilgoankar, is coming up with a newer interpretation of the story. Titled Kaadan in Tamil and Haathi Mere Saathi in Hindi, the film will make it to the theatres on March 26.

But before you watch the film, we decided to dig a little and find some interesting facts about the 1971 film. From the real bond between the actors and the elephants to the original title of the film, here are 5 interesting facts about the original.

 

1. The film was initially named “Pyar Ki Duniya“. It also became the biggest box-office hit of Khanna’s career.

 

2. The elephant was so fond of Tanuja that it refused to push her in a scene during the climax. After many failed attempts, the team had to finally shoot separate close-ups for both.

 

3. Tanuja was not the first choice for the film, Sharmila Tagore was initially approached for the role.

 

4. Kajol, Tanuja’s daughter, who was a kid back then, watched the film and blamed her mother for the death of the elephant. Once Tanuja even took Kajol to a circus where an elephant did not let Tanuja go, and grabbed her clothes. While the actress couldn’t recognise it, she was told that it was the same elephant who had worked in the film and had only stopped her because he still recognised her even after so many years of the film’s release.

 

5. Before coming on board for the film when Khanna heard the script of the film, he said that he liked the idea, but was not satisfied with the script. He then suggested Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar’s names to the producer. Khan and Akhtar were new in the industry and had worked with Khanna before. The producers took Khanna’s suggestion and got them on-board.

 

Coming to Daggubati’s film, we will see the actor fight a corrupt politician who wants to erase the forest land to build a township and gain profits from it. The trailer of the film was unveiled on March 3, and Daggubati looked quite impressive in it. Directed by Prabhu Solomon, the trilingual film is titled Aranya in Telugu.