 Director Prakash Mehra first asked Vinod Khanna to play the role of  Ajay. Khanna said he would act in the film only if he was paid Rs 1  lakh more than Amitabh Bachchan was paid. Mehra agreed. Thus Amitabh  got Rs 1.5 lakh and Vinod Khanna was paid Rs 2.5 lakh.