Salim Khan Says Amitabh Bachchan Could Have Stopped His Split With Javed Akhtar: 'Agar Main Hota...'

Salim Khan recently shared his thoughts on split with Javed Akhtar, hinting that the split might have been avoided if Amitabh Bachchan had intervened at the time. 

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, two legendary screenwriters duo who reshaped Hindi cinema during the 1970s and gave many successful hits, parted ways after years of partnership. Salim Khan recently shared his thoughts on their separation, hinting that the split might have been avoided if Amitabh Bachchan had intervened at the time. 

When Javed Akhtar asked to split

In a conversation with NDTV, Salim recalled the moment Javed Akhtar expressed his desire to work independently. He 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.)"  

Salim Khan on his relationship with Javed Akhtar

Reflecting on their relationship post-separation, Salim shared that they never disclosed the reasons for parting ways to anyone. "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," he explained, indicating that despite the professional break, their friendship remained intact. 

Salim Khan says Amitabh Bachchan could have prevented the split

During the interview, Salim shared that Amitabh Bachchan, a close collaborator of the duo, could have played a role in preventing their split. “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 Amitabh Bachchan's place... I would have given 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.” 

Despite the ongoing cordial relationship between Salim Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, this particular topic has never come up in their conversations. "We still talk and meet occasionally, but we don’t speak about the split or get into serious discussions," Salim shared. 

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar’s recently released documentary series 'Angry Young Men' dives deep into the illustrious careers of the duo. The series is packed with fascinating stories from their lives, highlighting their journey to fame.