Throwback: Rishi Kapoor often clashed with Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar.
Veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar has often made it known that the industry celebrated when he and his longtime creative partner, Salim Khan, delivered their first-ever flop film.
The 1977 released film Immaan Dharam reunited the exemplary Deewaar pair Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor, but tanked both critically and commercially. Salim-Javed’s rivals in the industry, who felt that they were becoming too full of themselves with a string of blockbuster hits, allegedly popped champagne to celebrate the reality check.
While Javed Akhtar’s story could seem heightened, as it turns out, it was true. In his autobiography, Rishi Kapoor admitted that he actually went to Javed’s house after Immaan Dharam tanked, only to make fun of him in person.
Reportedly, Rishi Kapoor wrote in his book Khullam Khulla, that he featured in Amar Akbar Anthony, which broke many box office records while a Desh Mukherjee’s directorial film Imaan Dharam, scripted by Salim–Javed bombed at the box-office. It was such a dud that people started saying, ‘Salim–Javed’s film has flopped. It was the first time that a Salim–Javed film had failed so miserably and that too despite boasting a star cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar.
Rishi also went on to reveal that one of director Manmohan Desai’s ‘fun-loving’ assistants suggested that they pay Javed a visit, and gloat at his failure. “He said to him ‘Saala, Javed makes fun of all us, let’s go and needle him over Imaan Dharam.’ Javed owned an apartment somewhere in Bandstand and they headed over immediately. Javed welcomed them and brought out glasses and poured drinks to all of them. After a few rounds, they began taunting him.
Notably, Salim-Javed duo gave Hindi cinema some of its most iconic films under their partnership.
Rishi admitted that Javed took the jibes on the chin. “‘Sarkar, Imaan Dharam toh flop ho gayi,’ they said. He (Rishi) drove the point home by repeating it a few times that he needs to credit Javed sa’ab for handling it well. He turned around and observed, ‘Sarkar, we had only one failure while you have a whole saga of setbacks.
Rishi had butted heads with both Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan separately before, after he declined to appear in the film Trishul. A ‘drunk to the gills’ Javed had vowed to never write again if his films didn’t outperform. Rishi’s debut hit, Bobby. Salim, on the other hand, warned Rishi that he might have destroyed his career by turning them down. Salim-Javed’s dream run, and their subsequent split, was recently revisited in the Prime Video documentary series ‘Angry Young Men’
News Edit KV Raman
