Flashback Friday: People used to clap as soon as he entered the screen. It was the era of single screen, when people used to whistle and make the whole atmosphere noisy. His style of walking was as if a ‘leader’ was walking. Everything he said was unique. Angry eyes peeping through the glasses, bell bottom jeans and colorful short jacket full of fashion, all this made him a god on screen.
This is just a matter of outlook. He was a master in both stardom and acting. Didn’t allow anyone to stand in front. They ate whatever came on screen. If you are wondering who we are talking about, then the answer is that we are talking about ‘whom’ and not ‘whom’.
It is a matter of two legends who emerged at one time – Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan.
Actually we are talking about two contemporaries and competitors of each other. Who not only added to his stardom with different films at the same time, but also gave many superhit films together. These are the names of two superstars of the industry – Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna.
Now, when two great masters are engaged in showing their strength together on the same field, then it is not possible that they will not face each other. This is what happened between Amitabh and Vinod Khanna. Today we will talk about the cold war that went on between them, which both of them never accepted publicly…but their stories have had their share in the gossip of the film world.
Both of their careers started nearby – one became an angry young man and the other became a hero from a villain.
Let’s start talking about the beginning of their careers. Where Amitabh appeared in his first film ‘Saat Hindustani’ in 1969 and after many flop films, his first hit film ‘Zanjeer’ was released in 1973. Vinod Khanna had already established his foot in the industry before that. He had already become a star. He started his film career as a villain. But, seeing his height and face, he started getting hero roles in films.
Vinod Khanna started his career with ‘Mann Ka Meet’ in 1968. Sunil Dutt played the role of lead hero in the film. After this, he also played negative roles in films like ‘Mastana’, ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’, ‘Aan Milo Sajna’, ‘Purab Aur Paschim’, ‘Elaan’ and ‘Sachcha Jhootha’. But when Gulzar’s eyes fell on him, he made Vinod a hero. Vinod was signed for films like ‘Mere Apne’ and ‘Achanak’. Now he started getting recognition as a hero from both the films.
Meaning, the stardom phase of both started at almost the same time. Both of their hit films started coming one after the other. Both of them got their own fan following. It also became a matter of debate among the fans as to who is better among the two.
The decade of 70-80 was such when both these legends worked in many multi-starrer films separately. Many of these films were such that both Vinod Khanna and Amitabh were seen together. Such as Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Hera Pheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Khoon Pasina, Reshma Aur Shera.
Vinod Khanna started charging more fees than Amitabh
Whenever Vinod Khanna and Amitabh were seen on screen. Such was the friendship between them that people remembered it. But was this friendship like this even outside the screen? If reports are to be believed, Vinod Khanna had charged Rs 1 lakh more than Amitabh for the film Hera Pheri. The reason said is that Vinod Khanna wanted to show that he is a bigger star than Amitabh. The makers also agreed. While Amitabh got Rs 1.5 lakh, Vinod took Rs 2.5 lakh for his role.
When Amitabh started being accused of cutting Vinod Khanna’s screen time
Whenever Vinod Khanna appeared in films with Amitabh, his roles were more powerful than Amitabh’s. His screen time was also more than Amitabh. During this time, allegations started being made against Amitabh that he gets Vinod Khanna’s roles cut. However, Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan never talked about this.
What did Vinod Khanna and Amitabh have to say about each other?
Vinod Khanna himself had said that there was no enmity between us. We were doing films at one time. So we were definitely competitors. When Vinod took a break from Bollywood, Amitabh had said that Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna had joined politics. They are doing well there, but I feel that these people have left me alone in Bollywood.
Vinod Khanna played an important role in giving stardom to Amitabh.
When both were at the peak of their careers. Suddenly Vinod Khanna left Bollywood and turned towards retirement. He went to Osho’s ashram in America. Osho gave him a new name Swami Vinod Bharti. However, he returned to Bollywood again after about 5 years with ‘Insaaf Se Wapsi’. But by then Amitabh had become a big star. And as it is said in Bollywood, what is seen sells. Vinod Khanna stopped being visible, but Amitabh continued to be seen. In such a situation, Vinod Khanna, who gave the biggest competition to Amitabh, himself made the path easy for Amitabh.
Today Vinod Khanna is not in this world. He died after a long illness. He also worked in many recent films like Wanted and Dilwale. Amitabh is known as the biggest actor of Bollywood today. His stardom is becoming brighter every day. Whatever may be the talk about their rivalry, it would not be wrong to say that both are legends of Bollywood and both will be known for their work in Bollywood even after 50 years.