'I'm Not Who I Was When I Wrote Deewaar'

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January 30, 2025 16:24 IST

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'We didn't create the Angry Young Man persona for Amitabh Bachchan.'
'We created the Vijay persona and then Amitabh Bachchan fitted into it.'

IMAGE: Amitabh Bachchan in Deewaar.

Yash Chopra's iconic film Deewaar, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh and Nirupa Roy, turns 50 this month.

To celebrate this important landmark, a special screening of the film will be held at Mumbai's Regal Cinema on February 1.

Deewaar's script-writer Javed Akhtar (along with Salim Khan), looks back at the film and tells Subhash K Jha, "If Deewaar and Sholay worked better than Aaakhri Dao in 1975, it is not necessarily because they deserved to. Many factors went into making Deewaar the film it was."

Where do you place Deewaar in your dazzling repertoire?

Dazzling repertoire is not for me to judge. Yeh sab retro-tareef beqar ki baatein hai.

We (Salim-Javed) did what we did back when we were younger, different people.

To praise ourselves for the impact that Deewaar made in 1975, and to take credit for it would be very unfair and embarrassing. It is like parents praising their own children. We've now...

Evolved?

Again, a self-congratulatory word. It suggests that I have become a better person over the years, and I am not sure of that.

No, I have moved on. I am not the person I was when I wrote Deewaar with Salim Khan.

 

IMAGE: Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy and Amitabh Bachchan in Deewaar.

Most of your fans consider it to be your finest work.

Mehnat toh humne apne saare scripts pe kiye, even the ones that didn't work like Imaan Dharam, Aakhri Dao and Shaan.

If Deewaar and Sholay worked better than Aaakhri Dao in 1975, it is not necessarily because they deserved to. Many factors went into making Deewaar the film it was.

What about the 'Vijay' factor?

What about it?

Would you say the Angry Young Man persona that Salimsaab and you created for Amitabh Bachchan, went a long way in making him the mega-star that he was?

I would like to correct you. We didn't create the Angry Young Man persona for Amitabh Bachchan.

We created the Vijay persona and then Amitabh Bachchan fitted into it.

IMAGE: Aruna Irani and Amitabh Bachchan in Deewaar.

Was Rajesh Khanna the first choice for Deewaar?

No. He was signed up with Gulshan Rai, the producer of Deewaar, for a film.

At that time, there was no Deewaar in the picture.

When the producer offered to have Rajesh Khanna in Deewaar, we (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) refused pointblank.

By then, Zanjeer was almost complete and we knew Amitabh Bachchan's potential. We wanted no other actor except Amitabh Bachchan for Deewaar.

Rajesh Khanna with a romantic musical image would not have been right.

You fought to have Mr Bachchan in Deewaar?

Nothing so dramatic. Gulshan Raiji saw our point of view and immediately agreed.

IMAGE: Amitabh Bachchan in Deewaar.

Javedsaab, be as modest as you like, but in 1975, Salimsaab and you created history twice over with Deewaar and Sholay.

I admit 1975 was a turning point for us. Deewaar and Sholay released within seven months of each another.

In 1978, we had Don and Trishul on two consecutive Fridays.

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