 Originally, Hrishikesh Mukherjee had envisioned Shashi Kapoor, the  brother of Raj Kapoor, for the role of Anand. He wanted Raj Kapoor  himself, but he had just recovered from his illness and Mukherjee  couldnt bear to see him die on the screen, since he had almost died  in real life. In any case, Shashi Kapoor was not eager for the role,  so Rajesh Khanna (qv) got it 