Javed Akhtar reveals Amitabh Bachchan was initially sceptical to play Angry Young Man

Veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar recalled that when he approached Amitabh Bachchan for Zanjeer, the actor questioned whether he was certain about casting him.

Salim-Javed, a veteran screenwriting partnership, were responsible for creating Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man persona in the 1970s. During a recent IFP session, screenwriter-turned-lyricist Javed Akhtar said that Amitabh was initially skeptical of playing the Angry Young Man. (Also Read: Amitabh Bachchan claims ‘no change in routine’ as he returns to Kaun Banega Crorepati 16; fans pleased)

What Javed Said
“I visited his residence. I urged him, “Let me give you Zanjeer’s script and make you meet the producer.” You do not discuss the terms and conditions with him. Just make the film in any way feasible. He asked for a narration. I gave him a narration. He looked at me with awe, and I remember it vividly. He asked, ‘Do you think I can pull off this role?’ Because until then, he had only played poets, doctors, writers, and so on. So he said, ‘Can I do this?’ Then I told him, ‘Nobody can do it better than you’,” Javed remembered.


Regarding the Angry Young Man character.
Salim-Javed first proposed the Angry Young Man prototype in Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer (1973). However, when Prakash approached all of Hindi cinema’s leading guys at the time, they all declined the job. It was an outlier during Rajesh Khanna’s reign because the character of Vijay in Zanjeer was intense, not romantic at all, and did not sing or dance like other heroes of the era.

Amitabh Bachchan began his career in the late 1960s and rose to prominence in films such as Hrishikesh Mukjerjee’s Anand (1971). However, a number of his later pictures were unsuccessful at the box office. This is why Prakash Jha was originally hesitant to sign him, but ultimately did so. Zanjeer became a smash, and Amitabh went on to play the Angry Young Man in Salim-Javed hits such as Sholay, Deewar, and Trishul.

Amitabh is currently preparing to make his Tamil debut with Vettaiyan. He’ll also be in the courtroom drama Section 84. Meanwhile, Javed Akhtar has written a new script for a film that will be directed by his daughter Zoya.