Javed Akhtar says in 'Mili', Amitabh Bachchan was exceptional even though it was a female-oriented film, and Jaya Bachchan did a terrific job as the lead
Javed Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan. Pics/Yogen Shah
Veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar, who has been receiving a lot of positive response to his recently released documentary miniseries 'The Angry Young Men' along with his writing partner Salim Khan, heaped praise on veteran Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan for his performance in 'Mili'.
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A recently resurfaced video shows the screenwriting duo Salim-Javed talking about Big B. Before he became the angry young man of Hindi cinema, Big B witnessed a string of flops.
However, it was the conviction of Salim-Javed that led to the casting of the veteran actor in 'Zanjeer'. The team became a box-office sensation as they went on to deliver several blockbusters together.
In the old video, Salim can be seen saying, "Even in 'Deewaar', Rajesh Khanna was signed by producer Gulshan Rai for his next film. But, we very strongly felt that Amitabh Bachchan is the right casting for the film. We insisted that if he wants to make a film, it has to be with Amitabh Bachchan."
In the same video, Javed Akhtar said, "I would like to mention a few films of Amitabh Bachchan which are very underrated. 'Deewaar', 'Don', 'Amar Akbar Anthony' are some of his films which are regularly spoken about but I feel there are other works of his that deserve equal respect and recognition. In 'Mili', he was exceptional. Although it was a female oriented film, and Jaya Bachchan did a terrific job as the lead, Big B's performance in the film was also spectacular."
The rise of Big B in Hindi cinema was almost juxtaposed with the fall of Rajesh Khanna, who is considered the first superstar of Hindi cinema.
The two even worked together in 'Anand', in which Rajesh Khanna left many in the audience teary-eyed with his performance.
However, he couldn't sustain his stardom as Big B had the indomitable duo of Salim-Javed by his side who incessantly wrote characters which made Big B the favourite among the masses.
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