When Rajesh Khanna admitted he ‘always envied’ Amitabh Bachchan after Deewar: I smiled each time he slipped

Veteran actor, late Rajesh Khanna had once admitted he ‘always envied’ Amitabh Bachchan after the movie Deewar. He further mentioned how he smiled, each time Big B slipped. In an old interview, Khanna was asked about the one film where one of them was signed but the other starred in it, he reacted. Rajesh Khanna mentioned the movie was Deewar and Amitabh Bachchan replied and asked, “really“.

Speaking with Bollywood Presents, Khanna had recalled the time he had watched just two reels of Deewar and Big B’s performance in the movie. He shared, “I saw just two reels of Deetvar and honestly, I said, `Wah kya baat hail (Wow)’ Honest to God. Talent was always there whether I worked with him in Anand or Namak Haram – I mean handi mein se agar chawal ka ek daana nikalo to pata lag jaata hai ki kya hai (if you take out a grain of rice from the pot you know if it’s done)– but talent needs the right break.”

The late actor had further shared, “After Deewar I always envied him. Only thing is, I smiled each time he slipped because he made the same mistakes that I once made.”

 

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Amitabh Bachchan had also reacted to what Khanna had said. On the same, Sr Bachchan had said, “Well, I just can’t sit here taking all these compliments from you, because it’s a little embarrassing.”

Khanna further told Big B, “it’s not embarrassing, it’s the truth“.

Talking about the 1975 movie Deewar, it was written by Salim-Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). Directed by Yash Chopra, the movie featured Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy and Parveen Babi. The movie was a critical and commercial success.

 

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Meanwhile, Big B and Khanna featured together in two films during their long careers. They featured in the 1971 film Anand and 1973 movie Namak Haram, both directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

Khanna passed away on July 18, 2012 in Mumbai. The day today marks the 80th birth anniversary of Rajesh Khanna.

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