How Salim Khan ensured his and Javed Akhtar’s name appear on Zanjeer’s poster: ‘Our names were on Amitabh’s nose, Jaya’s face’

Salim Khan ensured that he and Javed Akhtar got proper credit for their work and ensured that their names appear on Zanjeer's posters.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | February 10, 2023 04:47 PM IST

3 min read

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar wrote the screenplay of the 1973 film Zanjeer. (Photo: Express Archives)

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Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar made for perhaps the most acclaimed writers duo in Hindi cinema. Together, they gave hits like Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Zanjeer, Deewaar, Trishul, Kaala Patthar, Dostana, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay, and many others. Once they were sure they could create blockbusters with their scripts, Salim Khan ensured that they received proper credit for their work and got their names on Zanjeer’s posters.

During the making of the 1973 film Zanjeer, Salim and Javed asked the film’s director-producer Prakash Mehra to put their names on the film’s posters but he refused. In the chat show The Invincibles, hosted by Arbaaz Khan, Javed Akhtar shared, “One day we asked him (Mehra) that our names should be there on the board, on posters. He dismissed us saying, ‘writers ka naam? aisa hota hai kabhi? (Does it ever happen that writer’s name comes on the posters?)'”

That is when a drunk Salim Khan came up with an idea. “So, Salim sahab asked a guy from Sippy Films to take two jeeps and paint ‘Written by Salim-Javed’ on all the posters of Zanjeer across Mumbai. The next morning, the posters had our names on Amitabh’s nose, Jaya’s face and Pran’s forehead. There was total silence, we completely demoralised the film industry.”

Also read | Dharmendra was the first choice to play Zanjeer’s hero, director Prakash Mehra jumped when he saw Amitabh Bachchan: ‘Mil gaya…’

It was after this incident that Salim and Javed started getting their names on their film posters.

During the interaction, Javed Akhtar also shared that he and Salim never planned on becoming a team and it just happened ‘organically’. “Both of us never sat down and decided that we will become partners, it just happened organically. We were so compatible,” Javed shared.

Salim and Javed hit partnership came to an end after 11 years of writing great scripts. Javed, in an earlier interview, had spoken about his separation from Salim. Javed said that when they became successful, their lives became bigger and separate. He told BBC News Hindi, “Jab kaamyaabi aayi, toh naye naye log zindagi mein aana shuru ho gaye aur voh circle dheere dheere alag ho gaye. Toh voh mental rapport tha humara, voh toot gaya. Toh fir voh kaam nahi ho sakta tha (When we became successful, new people came into our lives and our circles separated. The mental rapport we had, got broken. We could no longer work together).”

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