Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra played the film's leads, solidifying their place in the film industry for all time. However, before its enormous success, the movie didn't do well when it initially debuted in theatres. Ramesh Sippy called an urgent meeting with Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, and Amitabh Bachchan, as revealed in the documentary Angry Young Men.

Salim disclosed in the series that Javed contacted him to let him know he was terminating the partnership. While both of them had maintained that they drifted apart, Javed has now disclosed that he sensed a "fatigue" in their work and determined it was time for them to move away.

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar dedicated an enormous amount of focus on "the mother factor" in their highly regarded films, Trishul, Shanti, and Deewar. This may have been triggered by the fact that Salim and Javed both lost their mothers when they were very young, as mentioned in their Prime Video documentary Angry Young Men.