This Bollywood epic took 23 years to make, lost its actors and director along the way, was called cursed, released unfinished

After the monumental success of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ in 1960, director K. Asif set out to recreate another historic love story. He chose the legendary tale of Laila and Majnu and titled the project ‘Love and God’. Guru Dutt was selected to play Majnu and Nimmi was cast as Laila. The film was planned on a large scale, but despite the initial excitement, it remained stuck in the planning stage for years.

For nearly six years, ‘Love and God’ remained just an idea until K. Asif restarted work in 1970. By then, Guru Dutt was no longer part of the project, so Asif approached Sanjeev Kumar for the role of Majnu. The actor, known for films like ‘Sholay’, agreed immediately and shooting began again. Unfortunately, K. Asif passed away in 1971 which left the film incomplete once more.

In 1986, fifteen years after K. Asif’s death, his fourth wife Akhtar Begum who was also Dilip Kumar’s sister decided to release the unfinished ‘Love and God’. She worked with producer and distributor KC Bokadia to piece together whatever footage had been filmed. However, the team faced another setback when Sanjeev Kumar passed away in 1985. His death made it impossible to complete the remaining scenes.

‘Love and God’ finally released on May 27, 1986, one year after Sanjeev Kumar’s passing. The film reached theatres in an incomplete form and could not connect with audiences. Critics also found it disjointed and difficult to follow. Many began calling the film jinxed due to the repeated tragedies that surrounded its making.

K. Asif had a career that spanned 26 years and he managed to complete only two and a half films that made it to the big screen. While ‘Phool’, ‘Hulchul’ and ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ performed well during his lifetime, ‘Love and God’ remained his unfinished dream. Interestingly, all three major figures involved in this film Guru Dutt at 39, Sanjeev Kumar at 47 and K. Asif at 48 passed away before turning 50 which added a tragic layer to the film’s legacy.