Why Salim-Javed parted ways with Rajesh Khanna & chose Amitabh Bachchan instead?

In Pic: Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan

Salim-Javed, the dynamic duo, have worked on several films together, including classics like 'Deewar', 'Sholay', and more. Their collaboration helped Amitabh Bachchan become the country's biggest superstar. Now, in an interview on the SAM YouTube channel, Javed Akhtar recalled how working with Rajesh Khanna became difficult for them and how they decided to cast the "unbelievably good actor" Amitabh Bachchan in their films.

Javed Akhtar on Parting Ways with Rajesh Khanna

Javed Akhtar recalled a time when Rajesh Khanna was surrounded by sycophants, making it difficult for them to work together. He stated, "Those were the times when a child born in India would say ‘Rajesh Khanna' first and then ‘mumma, papa'. But it was a short period. Eventually, there came a time when we realized that it would be difficult for us to work together because he was surrounded by so many people, so many sycophants and yes-men, it was difficult to work with him. So, we parted ways. Later, we became friendly, and we did a film together. But the kind of films that we were writing, and the kind of films that we had in our mind, were much more suitable for an actor like Amitabh Bachchan. Although he was not a superstar at that time, he was an unbelievably good actor. He was the man who we felt would be able to play our Vijay."

You Give Amitabh Any Line and He'll Make It Natural

Javed Akhtar then recalled the time when he wrote scripts for Dilip Kumar's films and stated, "If you're working with actors like Amitabh Bachchan or Dilip Kumar, you know that you can put the weight on the actor, and the actor will carry it. Sometimes, when you feel that the actor has limited talent, you make the scene easier for him. But these actors could carry anything. Amitabh Bachchan, you give him any scene and he'll do it with competence. You give him any line and he'll make it natural."

Salim-Javed has done several films with Amitabh Bachchan, including 'Sholay', 'Don', and 'Deewar'.