When Dilip Kumar was to team up with Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan for a film

Dilip Kumar shared a strong rapport with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan

Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar, who passed away on Wednesday, was an actor par excellence who enjoyed a strong fan following due to his impressive body of work and classy acting style. While his contribution to the film industry is pretty well documented, a section of the audience may not know that in 2003, he was to collaborate with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan for director Subhash Ghai's magnum opus Mother Land, a war drama.

The film, however, hit a roadblock when SRK opted out as he reportedly did not want to do a multi-starrer at that point in his career.

"The script was ready and three songs were also recorded, but at the last minute Shah Rukh backed out," Ghai had once told PTI

The film was soon shelved.

Also Read | Remembering Dilip Kumar: 7 evergreen classics that made him the 'Original King' of Hindi cinema

Kumar shared a strong professional rapport with Ghai. The two collaborated for the well-received Vidhaata and the 1986 release Karma, which emerged as a big hit. Karma had an ensemble cast that included Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Nutan. They later teamed up for the 1991 blockbuster Saudagar, which reunited 'Saab' with his Paigham co-star Raaj Kumar.

Kumar had an equally strong influence on Bachchan and SRK's career. He acted alongside the 'Angry Young Man' in Shakti, which revolved around the strained relationship between a cop and his son. The film attained cult status even though it did not do too well at the box office. Kumar won the Filmfare Award for 'Best Actor' beating Big B who was nominated for his work in the same film.

SRK, on the other hand, considered Kumar to be an inspiration. He essayed the lead role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel of the same name. The 1955 big-screen adaptation of the classic had featured Kumar in the lead. It was helmed by the ace filmmaker Bimal Roy and featured Suchitra Sen and Vyjayanthimala as the leading ladies.