In a recent interview, screenwriter, Salim Khan revealed Amitabh Bachchan could have stopped Salim-Javed split.
The iconic screenwriter duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, best known as Salim-Javed, gave many hits in Bollywood. Their dialogues in films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Deewar, and Don are still iconic even after so many years. Unfortunately, the duo split after working together as a team for more than a decade.
In a recent interview with NDTV, Salim Khan, who is also the father of actor, Salman Khan, spoke about his split with Javed Akhtar and revealed how it happened. In his words:
“Jab unhone mujhse kaha ki mei alag (films) banana chahta huun, maine kaha thik hai, koi dikkat nahi. Kisiko zabardasti rok nahi sakte. Mujhe toh abhi bhi nahi malum kyun alag hue. Ho gaya toh ho gaya.”
Salim Khan also revealed that despite the split, the two remained cordial to each other and never said anything against one another. The veteran screenwriter stated that even after going their separate ways, the friendship the two shared stayed intact. Going further in the interview, Salim Khan claimed that only Amitabh Bachchan could have stopped their split. Elaborating on the same, he said:
“Lekin mei agar hota unki (Amitabh Bachchan) jagah… unko (Javed Akhtar) yehi raye deta ‘Maat chodo accha khasa tumhari ek jodi hai, kaam kar raahe ho accha khasa chal raha kahe ke liye isko chodhte ho?’ Mai hota toh yeh karta.”
It was during the shooting of Sarhadi Lootera that Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar met each other for the first time. In 1971 when Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar decided to team up as they needed more success in their respective careers and together, they formed an impressive screenwriting duo and gave back-to-back hits.
Despite achieving tremendous success, Salim and Javed parted ways in 1982. According to multiple reports, Javed Akhtar wanted to write lyrics, but Salim Khan turned down his idea. Another alleged reason for their split is the remuneration. Amitabh Bachchan hiked his fee to Rs. 25 lakhs, and the screenwriters, Salim and Javed demanded Rs. 21 lakhs, which no one was willing to pay.
Javed Akhtar reportedly reduced his fee, and ace filmmakers started approaching him for screenplay and dialogue. After some time, Javed attended Amitabh Bachchan's Holi party, where he reportedly blamed Salim Khan for conceptualising the idea of Mr India with Amitabh Bachchan. The miscommunication between the esteemed screenwriters ended their partnership. Even after all these years, the actual reason behind the iconic duo’s split is still unknown.
What do you think about Salim Khan’s statement on Amitabh Bachchan? Let us know.
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