8 hours ago
- copy link
Writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar talked about Rajesh Khanna in a recent interview. He said that it was difficult to work with him because he was always surrounded by mad people.
Salim Javed worked with Rajesh Khanna in a total of 3 films.
'Children used to call him Rajesh Khanna before Mumma and Papa' Talking about this on YouTube channel SAM, Javed Akhtar said, 'This was the time when any child born in the country would say Rajesh Khanna before saying Mama-Papa. But this happened for a very short time.
There came a time when we realised that it was very difficult to work with him. He was surrounded by a lot of people. Many of them were crazy and that was why it was difficult to work with Rajesh Khanna. So we parted ways.
Rajesh Khanna's stardom faded after the arrival of Amitabh Bachchan. Both of them worked together in 'Anand', 'Namak Haram' and 'Bawarchi'.
Our films were suitable for Bachchan: Javed Javed further said, 'We were friends even after separation. However, we did work on a film much later. But the kind of films we were writing and the kind of films we thought were suitable for actors like Amitabh Bachchan.'
Amitabh's stardom began after 'Zanjeer' released in 1973. He gave many hit films with Salim-Javed including 'Deewar', 'Sholay', 'Don', 'Kaala Patthar' and 'Shakti'.
'Bachchan was not a superstar but was a great actor' While talking about Amitabh, the writer said, 'In the beginning, Bachchan sahab was not a superstar but he was a great actor. After meeting him, we felt that he was perfect to play the character of our Vijay.'
Salim-Javed wrote hit films like 'Haathi Mere Saathi' and 'Andaz' for Rajesh Khanna in the 70s. Rajesh last worked with both of them in the 1985 film 'Zamana'.