When B.R. Chopra’s Dastaan released in 1972, it had everything going for it on paper—Dilip Kumar in a challenging dual role, Sharmila Tagore, Bindu, Prem Chopra, music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. Yet, despite its star power, the film failed to click at the box office. More than five decades later, however, Dastaan is remembered as much for the fascinating stories behind its making as for the film itself. One of them involves Bindu, who landed a pivotal role only after several leading heroines reportedly turned it down. In a recent conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Bindu recalled how she unexpectedly became part of the film after a string of actresses, including Saira Banu and even Jayalalithaa, were considered for the role. According to Bindu, veteran distributor Gulshan Rai first informed her that B.R. Chopra was remaking Afsana and suggested she get in touch with the filmmaker. “Gulshan Rai ji, who was the distributor, called me and said B.R. Chopra was making Dastaan, a remake of Afsana. He told me there was a good …