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In the ’70s, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar were top screenwriters in Bollywood.
Ramesh Talwar was supposed to direct Zamana.
The legendary duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, back in the ’70s, they were the highest-paid screenwriters in Bollywood, penning classics like Sholay and Deewaar. With all those hits under their belt, they developed an air of invincibility — nobody could say no to them! Director Ramesh Talwar, who worked as an assistant to Yash Chopra and later directed films like Doosara Aadmi, had asked for the same fee as Salim-Javed, leaving them shocked.
In a recent chat on the YouTube channel Friday Talkies, Ramesh recounted how Salim-Javed wanted him to direct their film Zamana, hoping to cast the iconic Rishi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna together. But everyone knew those two had serious issues, all thanks to Dimple Kapadia. “They didn’t get along because Dimple did her first film with Rishi and she got married to Rajesh. So, because of that, there was a little discomfort between them,” he said.
Ramesh wasn’t interested in directing Zamana because it used the familiar ‘lost and found’ storyline common in Hindi films. Ramesh said, “Zamana was one of those ‘lost and found’ films. And I didn’t want to do that. When I told them I wasn’t interest, they said, ‘How can you say that? We’ve written an original story’. Salim-Javed wielded a lot of power at that time, so they said, ‘We have written this, how can you question us?’”
Ramesh agreed to do the film only if he was paid the same as Salim and Javed. He said, “I said, ‘Okay, if you want me, then pay me the same as yourselves’. They were shocked. They said ‘Pagal ho kya? (Are you mad?)’ We charge Rs 14 lakh, Rs 7 lakh each’. So I said, ‘Give me Rs 7 lakh’.” Salim and Javed then mentioned they had directors ready to take the job for just Rs 2.5 lakh, and Ramesh told them they could go ahead with those options.
He said that he often talked about their films, even as an assistant director, and was always honest with them. They knew he did his job well. “I used to actively discuss their films with them, even as an AD, and I was always very honest about my reaction. So they knew that I know my job. But I just wanted to charge the money because at that time, I was being offered films for Rs 10 lakh. I was friends with them, so I would have agreed to do what they said, but they were giving very less money,” he added.
