Javed Akhtar talks about his relationship with Salim Khan

The hit screenwriter duo Salim-Javed, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar’s relationship cannot be defined in words. The two parted ways in the 1980s. Together they wrote films like Sholay, Deewaar, Yaadon Ki Baaraat and Dostana among others.

Talking to Salim’s son Arbaaz Khan on his chat show featuring the legends of Indian cinema, Javed shared, “I can only respect him. I cannot sympathise with him. He’s too big for me. Arre inka nahi ho raha… yeh toh main soch bhi nahi sakta (It’s not happening for him… I can’t even think like that). For me, he’ll always remain a big man.”

Javed also credited Salim for teaching him the art of writing screenplays and added, “Whatever little about screenplay I know, I have learnt from him. Language aati hai mujhe, language main bahut achi janta hun, dialogues main likh sakta hun kaise bhi. Usme mera jo confidence hai, mera jo arrogance hai, voh totally justified hai. Mujhe screenplay nahi aata tha. (I know language, I am good at it. I can write dialogues. My confidence in that, my arrogance with dialogues, is justified. But I did not know screenplay.)” He added, “That way he is my guru.”