Amitabh-Shashi and other bromances, now past tense in Bollywood?

Highlights

• It seems so yesterday when you could say aloud a Karan-Arjun or a Jai-Veeru without having to pause for a breath. Without Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor, Deewar perhaps would have been a distant dream of Yash Chopra. Ramesh Sippy's Sholay would have never been the same without Big B and Garam Dharam.
• From where Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor had left off, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty picked up the thread. But increasingly with perhaps the ego issues amongst other reasons creeping in between actors of the same league, the most memorable onscreen male pairings seem to have become a thing of the past.
• Andaz Apna Apna 2
• Aamir and Salman in a still from Andaz Apna Apna
• A remake of the 1994 cult comedy is said to be in the pipeline for a long while now. Rajkumar Santoshi is reportedly keen on the project. But will the original Amar and Prem be reprised by Salman Khan and Aamir Khan? The cast of the film has not yet been finalised yet. Insiders say if the Khans don't comply, the makers might turn to Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan.
• Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan
• Several filmmakers like Mani Ratnam and Kunal Kohli are said to have tried casting both the young actors in their projects. For some reason or the other, none of the ideas ever took off. In fact, the closest Ranbir and Imran have come to agreeing to a project is a video to promote free education in order to spread literacy.
• Akshay Kumar-Ajay Devgn
• Rohit Shetty was reportedly supposed to cast Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn for an official remake of the Hollywood film Bad Boys 2. The director ultimately got busy with many big-grossing films and it's been more than two years now since the hearsay got out.
• Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn
• The very thought of having any two (and if possible, all three) of the Khans coming together on the silver screen is tempting enough. However, it's been ages since they've paired up for a film. Just before the end of last millennium, the industry got lucky to have a Salman Khan and an Aamir Khan in Andaz Apna Apna (1994) followed by Karan Arjun (1995) featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.
• According to director-producer Karan Johar, casting all the three Khans in a film would prove to be a terrible idea. "I don't think a script will be able to hold afloat all of them together in it. Due to their individual star weightage, the film will suffer more than anything else. The script has to be strong enough and I doubt if there is one currently available," quips KJo.
• Unforgettable jodis of Bollywood
• Rajendra Kumar-Raaj Kumar
• The star, fondly nicknamed Jubilee Kumar, paired with a lot of actors of his era. He delivered back-to-back hits shared the screen with Raaj Kumar in films like Gharana (1961), Dil Ek Mandir (1963) and Zindagi (1964).
• Amitabh Bachchan-Dharmendra
• Both the actors worked together in many films like Sholay (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975) and Ram Balram (1980). However, their Jai-Veeru act in the Ramesh Sippy classic is the most memorable of all. Big B did many films with Vinod Khanna too.
• Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff
• These two actors with no filmy background were last seen together in Shootout At Wadala but their association goes back four decades. They contributed to memorable movies like Karma (1986), Ram Lakhan (1989) and Parinda (1989).
• Akshay Kumar-Suniel Shetty
• Waqt Hamara Hai (1993) marked the beginning of friendship and films. They went on to feature together in a lot of movies including Mohra (1994), Dhadkan (2000) and Hera Pheri (2000). Akshay did a slew of films with Saif Ali Khan as well.