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The beginning of the famous Hindi cinema duo Salim-Javed was just a coincidence. But both of them joined hands and this pair created a new history in Bollywood. But do you know who had a hand in the crossing of this pair’s fleet? If not, then let us tell… These are those famous superstars, who themselves broke history many times at the box office, let us tell how and who gave the first big break to both of them.
New Delhi. Salim-Javed pairing is considered a milestone in the history of Hindi cinema, but do you know who gave the first big break to this legendary partnership? The magical pen of Salim-Javed gave many blockbuster films. Amitabh Bachchan was made a superstar and both of them themselves changed the contours of Bollywood. But do you know who gave the first break to this pair? Is the name of a superstar behind the duo’s hits? Do you know what that name is?
Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan is on ventilator support these days and is undergoing treatment at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. This writer changed the language of Hindi cinema in 90 years. But few people know which superstar gave the first big break to this great pair of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. After which the Salim-Javed duo gave many memorable and historical films to Hindi cinema.
Salim Khan’s cinema journey started not with writing but with acting. His first big opportunity was in the film ‘Baraat’ (1960), for which he got a signing amount of Rs 1000 and a monthly salary of Rs 400 during the shooting. He accepted this offer and came to Mumbai and started living in a rented flat in Mahima. Working under the screen name of ‘Prince Salim’, he worked in about two dozen films, which include ‘Teesri Manzil’ (1966), ‘Sarhadi Lootera’ (1966) and ‘Deewana’ (1967). His role in ‘Teesri Manzil’ was very good, but despite this, stardom remained away from him.
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It was during ‘Sarhadi Lootera’ that Salim Khan met Javed Akhtar. At that time Javed Akhtar used to work as a clapper boy and later director S.M. Sagar made him a dialogue writer. Both were working under their respective gurus, who happened to be neighbours. Salim Abrar was assisting Alvi in writing the screenplay and dialogues, while Javed was learning poetry from Kaifi Azmi. Due to this closeness, their meetings increased and soon they decided to work together. Salim used to focus on the story and plot, while Javed used to write dialogues and sometimes songs.
After working in 25 films, Salim Khan realized that acting was not his real field. He was moving towards writing. His early scripts included ‘Do Bhai’ (1969). During this time he met Rajesh Khanna. Salim Khan had told in an interview, ‘Rajesh Khanna had become a superstar at that time. He did not like the script of a film. He told us that if you can correct this script, I will get you money and credit as well.
That film was ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ (1971), which became a huge hit. This success established Salim-Javed as credible screenwriters and opened the door to bigger opportunities. After the success of ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’, G.P. Sippy hired him as a resident screenwriter for Sippy Films.
His first major success was ‘Andaz’ (1971), followed by ‘Adhikaar’, ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ and ‘Sita Aur Geeta’ (1972). After this the golden period started. Immortal films like ‘Yaadon Ki Baaraat’ (1973), ‘Zanjeer’ (1973), ‘Deewar’ (1975), ‘Sholay’ (1975), ‘Don’ (1978), ‘Trishul’ (1978), ‘Dostana’ (1980), ‘Kranti’ (1981) and ‘Mr India’ (1987) were the result of his writings.
Overall they worked together in 24 films, out of which 20 were superhits. Salim-Javed are described as the most successful screenwriters of all time. Salim-Javed changed the language of Hindi cinema. Brought the era of ‘Angry Young Man’, made Amitabh Bachchan a star. The most important thing is that he was the first writer of Indian cinema who achieved star status only as a writer.
