Rajesh Khattar recently spoke about his experience working with Amitabh Bachchan in his comeback film, 'Sooryavansham'. Here's what he said.
Amitabh Bachchan is among the most legendary and admired actors ever produced by Hindi cinema. Beginning from his angry-young man era to the last decade of experimentation, Big B has achieved unprecedented fame across households in India. But, the journey wasn't always easy for him, and the actor faced a major setback in the '90s when new actors like Salman, SRK, Aamir, Akshay and more began to make their mark. After taking a hiatus from acting, Amitabh made a much-awaited comeback with Sooryavansham, which has achieved cult status over the years. In a new interview, Rajesh Khattar, who worked alongside the megastar in that film, recalled some of his behind-the-scenes memories from the set.
Amitabh Bachchan, who has always been a big name in showbiz, faced a rough path in 1999 when his company, ABCL, failed and left him bankrupt. Consequently, after a break, the megastar made a come back into films with Sooryavansham. Since he sparingly did films and they were not working, everyone in the industry thought he would leave acting, and Rajesh Khatter was one of them. In an interview with Friday Talkies, the actor mentioned that after he learned Big B would play a double role in the film, he didn't consider anything else and took the golden chance to work with him. In his words:
"I didn't want to miss the opportunity to work with Bachchan Sahab because I didn't want to doubt my decision. Sooryavansham came at a time when Amitabh Bachchan was coming back after a hiatus. Unhone tyag diya tha industry ko. It was his comeback film. When he returned to making films, I simply took up the role thinking, 'What if he decides to quit acting again?' So I didn't want to miss the chance at any cost."
Rajesh Khatter was not introduced to the Don actor on his first day on set. Rather, he was asked to act directly with him in a scene where the character was supposed to yell at Big B. It made Rajesh nervous, and he took two shots to complete the shoot. Later, he got a chance to meet him after the scenes were done. Recalling the incident of working with Amitabh, Rajesh said:
"Jab hum shoot kar rahe the, mujhe pehle hi shot mein unhe daantna tha. Aap soochiye bade hue hai aur Amitabh Bachchan hai aapke samne. Aur woh south makers the unhone yeh bhi nahi kiya ki pehle baatcheet karate hai, phir karte hai. Aur woh aisa tha sidhi ke upaar woh khade hai aur niche mai. Toh koi coordination, hi hello nahi hua. Sidha shot ke baad hi hello hua. Obviously, I was very nervous aapke Idol aapke samne khade hai. But, action and cut mein, doo take mein ho gaya."
After Sooryavansham, Rajesh Khattar and his former wife, Neelima Azeem shared a cordial bond with Amitabh. Their son, Ishaan, once sat down for an interview with Etimes and revealed that Amitabh Bachchan helped him get admission into a school by personally visiting them to request it. He said:
"He was the reason why I got admission to my school. My mother was working with him at the time. It was very difficult to get admission into that school, and Mr Bachchan made a personal visit to the authorities and the principal. I only found out about this much later in life, once I was an adult. But can you imagine that? Amitabh Bachchan did that so that a kid could get a good education."
Sooryavansham, released in 1999, was a remake of the Tamil film, Surya Vamsam. In the film, Amitabh Bachchan played the double role of a father and son. The film also featured Soundarya, Mukesh Rishi, Anupam Kher, Kader Khan, Rajesh Khatter and more. It didn't perform well at the box office after its release. However, it became iconic after its multiple reruns on television.
Despite initial failure, Sooryavansham has become one of the most popular films of Amitabh Bachchan. What do you think about Rajesh Khattar's experience of working with the Big B? Let us know in comments.
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