When the film was near completion, it was rumoured that with the increasing conflicts between the two leading actors, Vyjayanthimala would be replaced by another actress, Waheeda Rehman. Rehman had already replaced Vyjayanthimala in another Hindi film starring Kumar, "Ram Aur Shyam", (1967) which was being shot simultaneously with "Sunghursh". Vyjayanthimala readily declined the claim of her leaving the film when it was about to finish its shooting. "Sungharsh" was the last film where Kumar and Vyjayanthimala worked together. By then, both the actors had done the maximum number of films together and each was a commercial success.