Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar created the ‘angry young man’ trope in the 80s in Hindi cinema with Zanjeer which changed the trajectory of the writer duo Salim-Javed and Amitabh Bachchan. As Big B became one of the biggest stars of that era, so did the writers who went on to pen several big films. Salim Khan recently recalled how many actors had said no to the film.
In an interview on Bollywood Bubble, Salim Khan told Arbaaz Khan that actors like Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar had passed on the script of Zanjeer when it finally landed with Amitabh Bachchan. No leading lady was attached to the project and many didn’t want to star due to the small role. So, Amitabh Bachchan reached out to Jaya Bachchan and asked her to star in it. Khan revealed, “I suggested ki Jaya Bachchan ko le lo. She will do it and she will do it for him. Kahani bhi sunayi Jaya ko toh unhone kaha ki mera toh kuch hai nahi ismein zyada. Maine kaha ki haan ismein kuch hai nahi aapka zyada magar Amitabh Bachchan ke liye yeh ek aisi kahani hai ki yeh phod ke rakh degi (I suggested let’s take Jaya Bachchan. She will do it and she will do it for him. When I narrated the story to her, she said that she doesn’t have much to do in the film. I said yes, you don’t have much to do here but it can change Amitabh’s career).”
Salim Khan said that Amitabh Bachchan was known for his professionalism and Salim-Javed ensure to bring up his name during every project. However, following the split of Salim and Javed, Amitabh didn’t keep in touch with Salim as he was reserved in nature. He said, “Yeh joh thi relation rakhne ki responsibility, unpe thi. Aap jab bahut bade star ho jaate ho, aapki responsibility hoti hai ki usse milna julna joh bhi ho, relationship rakhna yeh aapka farz banta hai. Joh ki unhone shayad kisi wajah se nahi kiya (The responsibility of maintaining relationships was his. When you become a big star, it is on you to maintain relationships, which, for some reason, he did not do).”
Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan was last seen in Brahmastra and Unnchai. He has Nag Ashwin’s next with Prabhas and Deepika Padukone tentatively titled Project K.
