Javed Akhtar on Rajesh Khanna: The pair of Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan have written many superhit films. However, after some time both of them parted their ways. After this Javed Akhtar started writing songs. Now Javed Akhtar has revealed after years that Rajesh Khanna had helped him and Salim Khan a lot in earning money. Actually, he narrated this story in Arbaaz Khan’s chat show The Invincibles.
We made the second half of ‘Andaz’
During the interview with Arbaaz Khan, Javed Akhtar told, ‘Then the makers were making a guess and got stuck in the second half of the film. We have made the second half of Andaz. Our name appears in the additional screenplay. Now this was the time when Rajesh Khanna’s new film became a hit. I am talking about the beginning of 1969-70. He used to come there everyday, because he had given a break, so we became friends’.
Rajesh Khanna sought help for this reason
He further said, ‘One day he (Rajesh Khanna) came with Salim. Rajesh Khanna said brother, look, I have a great compulsion and this compulsion is that I am buying a house on Carter Road. The house is very expensive. That house is worth four lakhs and the producer has given me such a huge signing amount that I cannot even return it. The producer has given me Rs 2.5 lakh and if I work in this script, I will exit the film industry. Now the choice is that both of you friends somehow fix the second half of the film so that the work goes on.
This condition placed in front of the producer
Javed further said, ‘I read the script to see what it is. We put a condition in front of the producer that the hero is the one who will remain. We will save your four elephants. Other than that we will change everything. If you agree with this, then speak. We used to work on its screenplay as if it were a joke. Means, laughingly, the condition used to get bad in the whole scene. We narrated them and they liked it, they took it. This time Rajesh Khanna got us a lot of money. Ten thousand rupees. Five thousand to Salim and five thousand to me. In this way we were getting richer and richer.
