23 years in production, this Bollywood movie saw three deaths; was released 12 years after its director died

In the early 1960s, acclaimed filmmaker K Asif—best known for Mughal-e-Azam—embarked on a new cinematic journey. Titled Love and God, the film was a grand retelling of the timeless Persian-Arabic romance of Laila and Majnu. Asif, already established as a master of epic storytelling, envisioned this project as another feather in his cap. But instead, it became one of Bollywood's most ill-fated productions.

Series of Tragic Setbacks

The film's journey began in 1963 with Guru Dutt and Nimmi cast in the lead roles. However, tragedy struck when Guru Dutt died by suicide in 1964, bringing the project to a standstill. Several years later, Asif attempted to revive the film by casting Sanjeev Kumar as Majnu and restarting production in 1970.

But in yet another cruel twist of fate, K Asif passed away in 1971 before the film could be completed. This was not the first time Asif’s filmmaking dreams were disrupted. Even during the making of Mughal-e-Azam, the 1947 Partition had halted progress when one of the original financers moved to Pakistan, and the lead actor Chandramohan died in 1949. Still, Asif had managed to complete Mughal-e-Azam, but Love and God proved to be a much tougher battle.

Film Completed In Fragments

After Asif’s death, the project was shelved for over a decade. It was eventually revived by his wife, Akhtar Asif, who was also the sister of actor Dilip Kumar. With help from producer KC Bokadia, she decided to salvage the existing footage. Unfortunately, before the film could be finalised, Sanjeev Kumar too passed away in 1985. Despite the incomplete state of the project, Akhtar and Bokadia pieced together the film from scattered footage and editing across multiple studios.

Love and God was finally released on 27 May 1986—23 years after it had first gone into production. But the final product failed to impress audiences or critics. The film was both a commercial and critical disappointment.

With only two completed films—Phool (1945) and the iconic Mughal-e-Azam (1960)—K Asif’s career spanned over two decades. Love and God became his third and final directorial attempt, which remained unfinished in his lifetime. Tragically, all three central figures in the project—Guru Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar, and K Asif—died before reaching the age of 50.