Director Raja Thakur died on the release of his film Zakhmi (1975)

Generally, when a film becomes a hit in Bollywood, along with its hero and actress, the director is praised the most. If seen, the role of the director is the most important in the hit or flop of a film because the film rests on his shoulders. In such a situation, making a film and bringing it to the theatres is special to every director. But do you know there was also a director who died on the day of his film’s release? This is from 1975, when a Marathi director breathed his last when his first Hindi film hit the cinemas. 

Which film marked the sad turn of events?

We are talking about Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh’s film Zakhmi, which was released on July 28, 1975. The producer of this film was Tahir Hussain and the responsibility of direction was given to Raja Thakur. Along with Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh, the film featured big actors like Rakesh Roshan, Reena Roy, Helen and Johnny Walker. The film revolves around the man who is sent to jail on the charge of murdering his business partner on his wedding night.

In the film, Rakesh Roshan played the role of Sunil Dutt’s younger brother and Reena Roy was cast as Rakesh Roshan’s girlfriend. It is said that on the day the film was released, Raja Thakur breathed his last. Zakhmi was Raja Thakur’s first Hindi film. Before this, he used to make only Marathi films.

A body double also died on the sets of  Zakhmi

Another death occurred during the shooting of this film. Body double Faizal Khan also died while performing stunts during the shooting of the film. It is said that while performing stunts, he was injured in his chest and died. Very few people know that in this film, Lata Mangeshkar sang the song Jingle Bell Jingle Bell, which became a huge hit. It is said that Zakhmi was made on a budget of Rs 1.2 crore while it grossed Rs 3.2 crore worldwide.