Bollywood actor, Amitabh Bachchan is riding high on the professional front, as he has been giving back-to-back powerful performances even in his 80s. While Big B is an inspiration to many, there was a time when his career was on the verge of dooming. Now, in an interview, Salim Khan talked about the same and revealed how the actor's wife, Jaya Bachchan helped save his career and made him the star that he is today.
The movie, Zanjeer's screenwriter, Salim Khan sat down for a conversation with his son, Arbaaz Khan, in his chat show, The Invincibles Series with Bollywood Bubble, and revealed how the cult classic movie, Zanjeer changed Amitabh Bachchan's career in Bollywood. Talking about the same, Salim Khan called it a matter of fate as the popular actors, Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar turned down the film, and the script finally landed in the hands of Amitabh Bachchan. In his words:
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“It was a matter of destiny, because the script was ready with the dialogues. Whoever liked it—we had Dharmendra in mind, and he didn’t do it, something that I always feel a bit sad about. Dev rejected it for his own personal reasons. I asked Dilip Kumar later which film he regretted not doing, and he said it was Zanjeer.”
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Further in the interview, Salim Khan mentioned how Amitabh Bachchan thought of quitting Bollywood because he delivered 11 flop films back-to-back. However, even though Big B was a new actor back then, Salim believed in him and suggested that Jaya Bachchan should play opposite him as other actresses bailed on him. Taking a dig at how Jaya Bachchan saved Amitabh’s career, Salim revealed:
“He was also new—he was a good actor, no doubt about that, with a good voice and personality. The rest of the films that failed, were because they were bad films, actors usually have to take the blame for that. Eleven films flopped. He had already decided to leave the industry and go. And also at the time, heroines did not want to take on less roles. Ultimately, I suggested to take Jaya Bachchan for the film, and she would do it for him. I told her the story, and she said ‘there’s nothing for me to do…’ I said there’s nothing much here, but this is for Amitabh Bachchan and this would be explosive for his career.”
For the unversed, the film, Zanjeer was the first film written by the legendary screenwriter duo, Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar, and it changed the spectrum of films in Bollywood. However, soon after that, the duo split up in the 80s. Apart from turning Amitabh Bachchan’s acting career 360 degrees, the iconic hit film also gained cult status in Bollywood. Zanjeer helped Amitabh establish himself as a leading actor in Bollywood and garnered him the title of the 'angry young man'.
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Did you know Amitabh Bachchan put forward a condition before his now-wife, Jaya Bachchan to get married to her? Amitabh didn’t want his wife to work regular hours after their marriage and asked Jaya to choose her projects wisely so that she didn't have to work every day. So, while Amitabh Bachchan’s career skyrocketed after marriage, his wife, Jaya Bachchan prioritised her family over her acting career. During his appearance at the India Today Conclave in 2014, Big B applauded his wife for the same and said that it was totally her call to give preference to home and not films.
For the unversed, Amitabh Bachchan was last seen in the film, Uunchai.
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