Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, the iconic screenwriters of Hindi cinema revolutionised the film industry in the 1970s. However, after years of working together, the duo split ways. In an interaction with NDTV, Salim Khan revealed that his jodi with Javed Akhtar might have lasted longer if Amitabh Bachchan had pacified the situation. Recalling the time when Javed Akhtar told him that he wanted to make separate films, Salim Khan said, “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. [When he informed me that he wanted to work separately, I said okay, no problem. You can't force someone to stay. Even now, I don't know why we separated. It just happened.]”
Salim Khan said, “Kyun alag hue yeh bhi kisiko pith piche nahi bataye, uska zikar hi nahi kiya. Milna-julna thha, baat karte thhe, unke ghar ke samne se hi nikalta thha mai, roz walk karta thha, hath hilata tha woh bhi haath hilate thhe. Joh rishta hai joh dosti hai woh thha. [Why we separated, we didn't tell anyone, or spoke behind each other's backs, or even mentioned it. We used to meet, talk, and I would pass by his house every day. While walking, I would wave, and he would wave back. The friendship is still there.]”
When asked whether the break of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar's partnership affected megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Salim Khan said that “zaroor hua hoga”. He also disclosed that if he was in the place of Amitabh Bachchan, he would have acted as a mediator and stopped the split. Salim Khan 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. [But if I were in his [Amitabh Bachchan's] place... I would have given him [Javed Akhtar] the advice: ‘Don't leave, you have a great partnership, you're doing well, everything's going fine, why would you want to end this?' If it were me, I would have done that.]”
Salim Khan added that although he often meets Amitabh Bachchan, they do not talk about this issue. “Baat toh hoti rehti hai, mulaqat ho jati hai. Zyada sakhti se baat nahi karte. Zyada kisike karib nahi aate [We still talk and even meet. We don't speak harshly. We don't get too close to anyone],” he said.
On August 21, Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan attended Sholay's special screening in Mumbai on the occasion of the film completing 49 years. Read all about it here.