His poetic sensibilities flowed beautifully under the keen eye of Yash Chopra, the monarch of romance. He gave the star a much-needed respite from action dramas.

In almost all of Chopra's films, Amitabh played a bitter character -- the angry young man of Deewar, the shrewd discarded son in Trishul, the cold-hearted mine worker in Kaala Patthar or the poet who loses his true love to someone else in Kabhi Kabhi.

Chopra's Silsila was a casting coup with Amitabh, Rekha and Jaya Bachchan starring in the same film. This was the time when rumours linking Amitabh and Rekha were at the zenith. Despite the buzz, the film sank at the BO.