‘You Are Not Christ And I Am Not Gandhi’

Amitabh
Bachchan:
‘Success
didn’t
affect
me
at
all.’
Rajesh
Khanna:
‘I
felt
next
to
God!’

What
would

Amitabh
Bachchan
and

Rajesh
Khanna
talk
about
if
they
ever
got
together?

Dinesh
Raheja,
the
then
editor
of

Movie
magazine,
managed
to
bring
the
two
titans
together
in
1990,
which
was
17
years
after
their
last
film
together,

Namak
Haram.

It
was
a
daunting
task.

On
D-Day,
the
photographer,
the
consulting
editor
and
Dinesh
were
thrilled
when
it
got
off
the
ground.

But
conversation
between
the
two
was
stilted
till
white
wine
was
ordered,
which
proved
to
be
the
ice-breaker.

In
a
rare
spirit
of
camaraderie
and
forthrightness,
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Rajesh
Khanna
unwound
and
exchanged
notes
on
the
highs
and
lows
of
superstardom,
their
mutual
admiration
for
each
other
plus
their
relationships
with
wives
and
even
the
ultimate
equalizer,
death.

We
celebrate
the
Big
B’s
82nd
birthday
on
October
11
with
these
excerpts
of
a
fascinating
conversation.

It
has
been
17
years
since
you
last
came
together,
professionally
or
personally.
Why
did
you
not
team
up
after
the
Hrishikesh
Mukherji-directed

Anand
and

Namak
Haram?

Amitabh
Bachchan:
I
think
after

Namak
Haram,
the
only
semblance
of
an
offer
was
made
by
Goldiesaab
(Vijay
Anand)
when
he
wanted
to
make

Rajput
(1982,
it
eventually
starred
Dharmendra,
Rajesh
Khanna
and
Vinod
Khanna).

Rajesh
Khanna:
I
wish
we
had
done
a
third
film
also.
It
would
have
been
a
hat-trick.

Amitabh
Bachchan:
Yes,
I
agree.
However,
I
think
it
was
important
for
a
person
like
Hrishida
to
come
up
with
something,
because
—
with
all
due
respect
to
Rajesh
Khanna
—
I
think
Hrishida
really
scripted
stories
which
suited
our
personalities.

Rajesh
Khanna:
How
did
you
feel
when
you
became
a
superstar
after

Namak
Haram
and

Deewar?

Amitabh
Bachchan:
It
didn’t
affect
me
at
all.
I
feel
that
my
success
was
more
dependent
upon
the
script,
director
and
co-stars.

I
just
happened
to
be
there.

Rajesh
Khanna:
I
felt
next
to
God!

I
still
remember
the
exact
moment
when
for
the
first
time
I
became
aware
of
how
mind-blowing
super-success
can
be.

It
psyches
you
totally
or
you’re
not
human.

It
was
just
after

Andaaz,
at
a
lottery
draw
held
at
the
Vidhan
Sabha
in
Bangalore.

Amitabh
Bachchan:
We
were
working
together,
in
fact,
when
you
had
gone
there.

Rajesh
Khanna:
Yeah.
One
couldn’t
see
anything
but
heads
bobbing
down
the
whole
road.
And
there
was
just
one
echo
of
the
voices
‘Haaaaa…’
You
know,
it
was
like
a
stadium
in
the
times
of
the
Romans.

I
wept
like
a
baby.

I
am
very
surprised,
Amit,
that
success
and
failure
leave
you
untouched.
Because
later,
when
I
started
slipping,
I
hit
the
bottle.

I
mean,
I
am
not
a
superhuman
being.
You
are
not
Jesus
Christ
and
I
am
not
Mahatma
Gandhi.
Haven’t
you
experienced
anything
of
this
sort?

Amitabh
Bachchan:
No,
I
have
been
very
pessimistic
about
myself,
I
must
say.
And
it’s
really
a
wonder
that
I
continued
up
to
a
certain
point.

Perhaps,
it
is
due
to
the
grace
of
God,
prayers
of
the
people
and
my
lucky
stars.

Each
day,
I
felt
that
this
is
the
end,
tomorrow
is
my
last
day,
so
I
have
never
really
looked
at
it
as
emotionally
and
as
passionately
as
you,
Rajesh
Khanna.

Don’t
you
recall
the
overwhelming
response
of
the
people
to
your
illness
in
1982
when
you
were
fighting
for
your
life
in
Breach
Candy
hospital?

Amitabh
Bachchan:
Of
course,
it
affected
me
for
a
very
long
time.
Jaya
and
I
spent
long
hours
trying
to
figure
out
how
to
return
the
immense
love.

Rajesh
Khanna:
Naturally.

Duaa
mein
jo
baat
hain
woh
dava
mein
kahan?
I
recall
reading
that
when
you
were
in
hospital,
your
heart
stopped
beating
for
30
seconds.

Amitabh
Bachchan:
Yeah,
I
had
no
pulse
and
there
was
no
blood
pressure…

Has
the
experience
left
you
less
afraid
of
death?

Amitabh
Bachchan:
When
you
gotta
go,
you
gotta
go.

Rajesh
Khanna:
I
am
not
scared
of
death
at
all.
If
on
my
death
bed,
I
am
asked,
I
shall
say
that
I
have
no
regrets,
I
have
had
the
best
of
everything.

So
when
death
comes,
I’ll
just
smile.

I
know
that
I
have
missed
nothing,
and
if
I
am
given
this
life
again,
I’ll
go
through
it
exactly
the
same
way.

Amitabh
Bachchan:
Oh,
yes,
I
think
the
Lord
has
been
far
too
kind.

I
must
admit
that
he
gave
me
a
lot
of
things
at
a
very
young
age.
But
as
for
the
adverse
part,
I
wouldn’t
wish
it
even
on
an
enemy.

Rajesh
Khanna:
A
king
dies
a
king!
He
might
not
have
a
following.
He
might
be
dying
alone,
lost
in
a
desert
but
he
will
still
be
a
king,
whether
on
the
throne
or
in
exile.