Raju Shresthapopularly known as Master Raju, recalled a long-forgotten skirmish between Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Bachchan during filming
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
The 1972 film “The Bavarians”. According to him, the dispute arose after Hanna made a remark about
Amitabh Bachchan
prompting Jaya to step in and protect him.
The argument stopped the shoot, says master Raju
In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Raju Shrestha said that the differences were serious enough to halt the shoot. “There was an argument and the shooting also stopped, I only remember something like that because The Bavarians is a very old film,” he recalled.Explaining the reason for the clash, he added, “This fight was over Amitabh Bachchan. Jayaji was friendly with Amit ji and Amitabh was also close to Rishi Kapoor and he was doing a film with him.
Rajesh Khanna had his own problem.”
Rajesh Khanna’s discomfort with Amitabh’s rise in popularity
Raju also claimed that Rajesh Khanna was embarrassed by Amitabh Bachchan’s rising popularity at the time. According to him, Khanna saw Big B as a direct threat to his position as the first superstar of Hindi cinema.“He didn’t want anyone to replace him and Amitabh Bachchan was putting in a lot of effort,” Raju said. He added that the situation had escalated after Khanna’s comment. “Rajesh Khanna said something against Amitabh Bachchan Jai ji and then they had an argument and the shooting was stopped.”
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A turning point in the glory of Hindi cinema
The incident takes on historical significance as there was a change of power in Bollywood soon after. With the release of Zanjeer in 1973, Amitabh Bachchan’s career took a decisive turn. Films like Deewar, Sholay and Namak Haraam cemented his status as the new superstar, gradually replacing Rajesh Khanna at the top. Rajesh Khanna, despite unprecedented success at the beginning of his career, later faced a series of failures and increasing isolation. Raju’s memoir offers a rare insight into the personal insecurities, clashing egos and shifting equations that defined a crucial transitional period in Hindi cinema.
