Salim Khan recalls the moment when Javed Akhtar wanted to end their partnership: ‘I stopped and said I can look after myself’ | Bollywood News

The iconic screenwriting duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, popularly known as Salim-Javed, decided to pursue their own paths in 1982, after a successful 12-year collaboration that included hits like Zanjeer, Deewar, Sholay, among others. In a recent interview, Salim opened up about the moment Javed asked him for a separation.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
When asked about the reason behind their separation, he replied, “Even I never understood, how will explain it to anyone else? On one random day, he suddenly said that he wants to separate. We used to work together from morning till night. When he said main alag hona chaahta hu (I want to separate), I thought I didn’t hear him clearly, but he was asking for a separation. I said you must have thought it through, it can’t be a sudden thought. He said that he was thinking about it since a long time.”
Recounting the moment, Salim said he instantly stood up to leave his house. “He was coming to see me off till the car, but maine unko roka aur bola (I stopped him and said), ‘I can look after myself’. I never felt any bitterness towards him. There was no fight between us. It was partnership that broke one day and no one got to know what happened and why,” he shared. The veteran actor-producer continued, “I never asked him again why it happened. Jab yeh ho hi gaya toh poochne ka kya hi matlab tha (What’s the point of asking why it happened). He did his own films separately, many announcements came out after that.”
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In the same chat, Salim recalled a funny anecdote when a blind producer addressed him as Javed and said, “A lot of people used to think that Salim-Javed is a single name. A producer used to come, he was blind, he used to talk to me addressing me as Javed saab.”
He added, “I never clarified that I am not Javed. We were sitting at an office once, Javed saab used to drink at that time. Thodi zyada hogayi (He was too drunk), so he said, ‘Salim sahab, dikhta nahi hai toh kya hua, hai toh mera fan (Even if he can’t see, he is my fan). I said he is your fan because he is blind.”