The year 1980. The year of Yash Johar's mega-moneyspinner Dostana. "And a very special film," recalls Amitabh Bachchan who's currently in a remote area of Rajasthan shooting for Vidhu Vinod Chopra's new film. "Dostana was Karan Johar's father Yash Johar's first film as producer. It's so apt that I worked with the father and now I'm working with his son in Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna From the time I worked in Dostana we never said goodbye to the Johars. Not too many people know this.
But there were lots of prominent producers who started off with me in their film. I had the good fortune of being in the first production of Prakash Mehra who started with Zanjeer. Manmohan Desai started with Amar Akbar Anthony. Tito-Tony started their production company with Do Anjaane. Iqbal Singh became an individual producer with Kaalia and of course Yash Johar with Dostana…..What an appropriate title!
All of us associated with the film—Yash Johar, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman, director Raj Khosla, writers Salim-Javed—were friends….Dostana was also special because it was the only film in which Raj Khosla directed me. He was very thorough, with a great sense of drama and music.
The way the songs were brought into the plot—for example Mere dost kissa yeh kya ho gaya—was exceptional. Unlike today when so much jiggery-pokery goes with technique and camera angles, Dostana was a very simple film.
The most fancy thing in Dostana was a trolley shot here or there. The whole team was trained under the great Guru Dutt. It showed….I knew my co-star Shatrughan Sinha from the time he was at the Pune Film Institute. He graduated at the same time as Jaya, Navin Nichchol, Danny Denzonga and Romesh Sharma.
All of them are my friends to this day. I knew Shatrughan from the time we did my first film as a solo hero Bombay To Goa together. Several of our early films together never saw the light of day. We were all bonded by the struggle to make it big.
We used to spend a lot of wonderful times together. Then Sharughan was much in-demand as a villain, then leading men. There are only two actors in the film industry who were able to achieve this crossover from villain to hero. Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha. They've a lot to be proud of.
Both are coincidentally in politics and very successful at that too….Was there any ego hassles with Shatrughan or any of my co-stars? Not as far as I can tell. I'm perhaps the only actor to have done so many fims with so many actors from Shashi Kapoor and Rishi Lapoor to Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha…you name it."
Mr Bachchan then tries to define a friend. "Someone who has your trust and faith…someone whom you enjoy being with and who will be with u during trying times….I don't have very many friends. The ones that I have, I'm very proud of and happy with. Amar Singh, Anil Ambani, Subrato Roy…they're all my close friends.
We don't get to spend too much time together. It isn't essential to meet everyday with friends. The strength of a friendship lies in remaining proximate and warm even when you are physically away. You are so far away. Yet I know you are my friend."
When I tell him that he's someone who's always willing to accommodate a friend in his life and schedule Mr Bachchan protests. "You cannot use the word 'accommodate' for a friendship. Once you call someone a friend whatever you do or not do must come naturally and without fanfare. I think to accommodate a friend is to belittle friendship."
Simi Garewal recalls AB as a fun friend who entertained his friends for hours joking and singing. "Simi and I did Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Namak Haraam together. I'm sure we had a lot of fun. And now…I still remain the same. Even if I'm watched constantly I continue to have fun when I'm with friends.
Why should there be any restrain ? I do have fun at parties when I'm with a comfortable group of friends. As for rest of the social appearances, they're for noble causes. And these include commitment made to friends. If friends request you to give time, you have no choice.
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