Why Did Amitabh Bachchan And Kader Khan’s Strong Friendship Break? Hanif Zaveri Says, ‘Some Ego…’

Amitabh Bachchan and Kader Khan’s friendship was once the talk of the town. The duo shared an inseparable bond. However, as time passed, the close friendship faded. Yes, you read it right. Kader Khan himself said in an old interview what went wrong in their relationship. For the unversed, Kader Khan made his Bollywood debut in 1970, soon forming a strong bond with Amitabh Bachchan, who made 1969 with the film, Saat Hindustani. In a recent interview, journalist and author, Hanif Zaveri opened up about their close bond that led to fallout.

Journalist, Hanif Zaveri opens up about the deep bond between Amitabh Bachchan and Kader Khan

Recently, author and journalist, Hanif Zaveri spoke to Meri Saheli about the deep bond between Amitabh Bachchan and Kader Khan. Recalling an incident, Hanif said that when producer, Anwar Ali was working on the film, Khud-Daar, he went to Amitabh Bachchan for help. Big B also guided the producer to take a story written by Salim-Javed. However, as the screenwriter duo charged a higher amount, Anwar Ali went back to Amitabh for a second opinion. That’s when he suggested Kader Khan. For the uninitiated, Kader had worked both as an actor and a screenwriter. Recalling the duo’s close friendship, Hanif said:

“When Anwar Ali was making Khuddar, he went to Amitabh and asked for help, saying that if he gave a confirmation letter, financiers would invest money. Amitabh Bachchan gave the letter and suggested that he take a story from Salim-Javed. He then went back to Amitabh Bachchan and said Salim-Javed were asking for money, which he didn’t have at the time. Amitabh and Kader Khan shared such a strong rapport that one phone call from Amitabh was enough for Kader Khan to agree to write Khuddar without taking any money initially. The film was made and became a super-duper hit.”

Journalist, Hanif Zaveri talks about the possible reason behind Amitabh Bachchan and Kader Khan’s rift

Further in the interview, Hanif Zaveri shared that there was a time when rumours swirled that Amitabh was planning to step away from films. However, it was Kader Khan who shut down the rumours surrounding it. He also stated that if the rumour is believed to be true, then he will also leave the industry. But things changed with time. Hanif added that although the duo never told the reason behind their rift, he thinks that perhaps it’s Big B’s ego that caused the distance between them. Hanif also recalled an old interview where Kader Khan spoke about their fallout. Hanif was quoted as saying:

“At that time, there was news that Amitabh Bachchan was retiring from films. He was not signing new projects. Later, Kader Khan said Amitabh Bachchan is not leaving films, he is just taking some rest. And if Amitabh Bachchan really leaves the film industry, then I will leave too. Such was the love between them. perhaps Amitabh Bachchan developed some ego. Neither Amitabh Bachchan nor Kader Khan told me this directly, but a YouTube interview of Kader Khan went viral in which he said Amitabh Bachchan wanted him to address him as ‘Sir.'”

When Kader Khan spoke about his and Amitabh Bachchan’s fallout

In an old interview with journalist, Prashant Angre, Kader Khan spoke about his and Amitabh’s rift. The actor shared that after Indira Gandhi’s death, her son, Rajiv Gandhi, invited Big B to join politics. The Bollywood superstar accepted the offer, contested elections and became a Member of Parliament. Kader shared that when Big B returned to the film industry with the new ‘MP’ tag, his behaviour had changed. However, one day a producer told him that Amitabh wanted everyone to call him ‘sir’. This didn’t go well with Kader, who used to call Big B ‘Amit’. Recalling the incident, Kader Khan said:

“One day, a producer asked me, ‘Did you meet sir?’ I was confused and asked, ‘Who sir?’ He replied, shocked, ‘Your friend, Amitabh Bachchan.’ I said, ‘Why would I call him sir? I have always addressed him as Amit.’ The producer was visibly stunned and said, ‘Please, don’t ever call him by name—call him sir.’ After that incident, our paths diverged. He became ‘Sir ji’, and I remained ‘Kader ji.’ My heart couldn’t allow me to suddenly start calling a friend ‘Sir’. That man simply began avoiding me because I wouldn’t use that title. His changed behaviour didn’t sit well with me, and our bond ended there.”

What are your thoughts on Hanif Zaveri’s revelation? Let us know.

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