Actor Amol Palekar famously locked horns with legendary filmmaker BR Chopra back in the 1980s, to the extent that the latter threatened to throw him out of the film industry, and the actor dragged him to the court, making the most sensational headlines back then. The entire fiasco happened after Palekar demanded his pending remuneration of Rs 40,000 from Chopra for the 1981 film, Agni Pareeksha.

Palekar attended the Jaipur Literature Festival on Sunday, and while at it, he narrated how despite being advised against it, he slapped Chopra with a legal notice for not paying him his remuneration. He revealed that what sent Chopra's temper through the roof was the fact that the actor, who had been a part of the film industry for only about 7 years then, had the audacity to ask the filmmaker to issue him a lab letter, mentioning the pending sum.

"Honestly, it wasn't the money that I was asking for, but it was more about the respect that I felt was being denied to me. Asking for a lab letter was a norm. I was not asking for anything out of the box. It was a given industry norm that if the money was not paid, then a lab letter was issued," Palekar said, explaining his stance.

Recalling his conversation with the filmmaker, Palekar shared, "I told Chopra sahab that I had not stopped any of the processes, I had even completed the dubbing, so I am not asking for anything out of the blue. But he took it as an insult. He said, 'How dare you ask for a lab letter?'. But I told him that it was a norm, so why not. He then said, 'I'll throw you out of the industry'."

The actor went on to say, "I told him in my own firm way, 'Chopra sahab, the film industry does not happen to be the backyard of your bungalow. I am here on my own terms. I do not belong to any clan or film family, and yet I am here.' And then, I took him to the court.

The case files travelled through the many courtrooms of Mumbai for several years, until the verdict was finally passed in Palekar's favour. "The interesting part was, after so many years in the court, I finally got the amount -- the Rs 40,000 which was supposed to be paid to me in the 80s. But because of the interest and other additions, the court ordered them to pay me the remuneration in lakhs! And then, I donated the sum because it wasn't the money I was fighting for," Palekar concluded.

The 1981 film, Agni Pareeksha, also starred Talluri Rameswari, Utpal Dutt, Parikshit Sahni and others in key roles. It was produced and distributed by BR Chopra, and was directed by Kamal Majumdar.