When Kader Khan had a fallout with Amitabh Bachchan: ‘Aap unhe sir ji bolna, Amit nahi bolna’
Kader Khan is remembered for playing the jovial comic roles in many of David Dhawan’s films in the 1990s but the late actor was a popular dialogue writer in the 1970s who wrote for some of the most popular films of the era. Directors Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra would frequently collaborate with Kader Khan for their many Amitabh Bachchan starrers – Amar Akbar Anthony, Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Namak Halal, Coolie – and at one point, Khan was even paid Rs 1,21,000 for his work, which was considered extraordinary at the time.
Kader Khan and Amitabh Bachchan found their footing in the Hindi film industry right around the same time and while they shared a warm working relationship in their initial years, they had a fallout in the 1980s.
The Dulhe Raja actor had once shared that their equation went through a change after Big B’s stint in politics. Amitabh Bachchan ventured into politics in 1984 but gave it up after 1987. In a chat with Patcy N for Rediff.com, Kader had shared that he would always address the actor ‘Amit’ but one day, the star apparently objected to the same and that created some dance between the two.
Kader Khan was one of the most popular dialogue writers of the 1970s. (Photo: Express Archives)
“I always called him Amit, but, one day, when I called him Amit, it did not go down well with him. One of the producers from the south asked me, ‘Aap sir ji ko mila? (Did you meet sir ji?)’ I asked ‘Kaun sir ji? (Who?)’ He was shocked and said, ‘Sir ji tumko nahi maloom? (You don’t know Sir ji?) Amitabh Bachchan.’ I told him, ‘I call him Amit, he is a friend.’ He said, ‘Nahi. Aap usse hamesha sir ji bolna, Amit nahi bolna abhi, he is a big man (No. You call him Sir ji, not Amit).’ Amitabh was approaching us and he thought like all the others I would call him ‘Sirji’, which I did not. From that day, I never called out to him and he never spoke to me,” he recalled.
Kader Khan, much like Salim-Javed, could see what Amitabh would bring to the table as he played the ‘angry young man’ in one film after another through that era. In a chat with Lata Khubchandani for Rediff, Khan shared that Amitabh’s charisma had a lot to do with his voice and as one of the prominent writers of the time, he made sure that he utilised it while writing for him. “Amitabh has this innate talent for speech, but he also trained himself. He is an actor who has put in effort in all aspects of acting. The potential exed in him and he refined it. Most people become complacent, but not Amitabh. He works hard and is sincere to his profession,” he said.
Kader Khan stayed away from the limelight during the last decade of his life. He passed away on December 31, 2018. After his passing, Amitabh Bachchan wrote a note for him on social media where he credited the late writer for some of his successful films. “Kader Khan passes away .. sad depressing news .. my prayers and condolences .. a brilliant stage art a most compassionate and accomplished talent on film .. a writer of eminence; in most of my very successful films .. a delightful company .. and a mathematician,” he wrote.
