Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, and Jeetendra were among the few names of the legendary actors of their generation. Each one of them enjoyed a huge fanbase, and their films used to be blockbuster hits soon after their releases. However, they, too, had their fair share of differences, and Rishi once made one such honest confession about his lingering issues with Amitabh Bachchan.
Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan worked together in many films, including Amar Akbar Anthony, Kabhi Kabhie, Naseeb, Om Shanti Om, Coolie, Delhi-6, Dosti Dushmani, Ram Tere Kitne Nam, Ajooba, Chala Murari Hero Banne and 100 Not Out. However, in his memoir, Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored, the late actor admitted some of the unknown anecdotes from his personal and professional life. Among them, it was his 'lingering issue' with Amitabh which caught our attention. For the unversed, it was in April 2020 when Rishi went to his heavenly abode after giving a tough fight to cancer. However, till date, he is counted amongst one of the most brutally honest celebrities in Bollywood.
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In his book, Rishi revealed that many actors did not prefer to work with Amitabh in the past. Revealing the reason behind the same, the Bobby actor mentioned that at those time directors and writers used to reserve their pivotal roles for Amitabh. Thus, it was not only Rishi but many other actors, including Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Dharmendra, and Vinod Khanna have also faced the same. In Rishi's words:
“I must confess there is still a lingering issue I have with Amitabh Bachchan. A big disadvantage of working in an all-star movie in those days was that everybody only wanted to make action films, which automatically meant that the star who could carry off action with the most flair would get the meatiest part. That’s how, with the exception of Kabhi Kabhie, which was a romantic film, none of the multi-starrers I featured in had an author-backed role for me. Directors and writers unfailingly reserved their strongest, pivotal roles for Amitabh Bachchan. And it wasn’t just me. Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna faced it too.”
In the same segment of his memoir, Rishi further went on to explain that since Amitabh was immensely talented back then and also an action hero, thus, most of the roles were written mainly for the Piku actor. Thus, other actors like him had to exert themselves to match with Amitabh. But romantic heroes had no place in that 'angry young man' era. Rishi added:
“Amitabh is undeniably a superb actor, immensely talented and, at the time, the number one star who ruled the box-office. He was an action hero, the angry young man. So roles were written for him. Although we may have been smaller stars, we were not lesser actors. Yet, the rest of us had to constantly measure up to him. We had to work hard, really exert ourselves to match up. In my time, the musical/romantic hero had no place. Amitabh was an action hero in an era of action films. As such, writers gave him the lion’s share and he had the authorbacked roles in almost all his films. This gave him an advantage over the rest of us who had to make our presence felt with whatever we got.”
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Further, Rishi penned that although a director and a writer's role is eminent in an actor's success, the co-stars are also undenyingly needed to enhance the same. Rishi mentioned how many co-actors also played a role in Amitabh's success apart from the directors or writers. The late actor wrote in his book that Amitabh, however, never acknowledged his co-actors for his success. Rishi continued:
“He has never given due credit to the actors who have worked with him. He has always credited his writers and directors, Salim-Javed, Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Yash Chopra and Ramesh Sippy. But it is also true that his co-stars had an undeniable role in his success. Shashi Kapoor in Deewaar (1975), Rishi Kapoor in Amar Akbar Anthony and Coolie or Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha and Dharmendra all contributed to the success of his films where they shared credit with him, even if in secondary roles. This is something no one has realised or acknowledged. But it was the way things were and we accepted it gracefully.”
What do you think about late Rishi Kapoor's take on his co-star, Amitabh Bachchan? Let us know!
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