'I don't have many friends. The ones that I have, I'm very proud of and happy with.'
Amitabh Bachchan's Dostana turns 45 this year, and sends the actor down memory lane.
"Dostana was Karan Johar's father Yash Johar's first film as producer," the Big B says.
"It's so apt that I worked with the father and and then the son. From the time I worked in Dostana, we never said goodbye to the Johars. Not too many people know this but there were a lot 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.
"Dostana is such an appropriate title! All of us associated with the film -- Yash Johar, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman, Director Raj Khosla and Writers Salim-Javed -- were friends," he says.
"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, like Mere Dost Kissa Yeh Kya Ho Gaya, were brought into the plot was exceptional."
Amitabh Bachchan feels Dostana was a very simple film.
"The fanciest thing in Dostana was a trolley shot! The whole team was trained under the great Guru Dutt, and it showed."
Bachchan discusses his co-star Shatrughan Sinha.
"I knew him from the time he was at the Pune Film Institute (FTII). He graduated at the same time as Jaya (Bhaduri), Navin Nishchol, 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. 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 wonderful times together.
"Shatrughan was in demand as a villain, then as a 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."
Was there any ego hassles with Shatrughan or any of his co-stars?
"Not as far as I can tell," Bachchan replies.
"I'm perhaps the only actor to have done so many films with so many actors from Shashi Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor to Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha..."
Mr Bachchan, who turns 83 on Saturday, October 11, tries to define a friend.
"Someone who has your trust and faith, someone you enjoy being with and who will be with you during trying times. I don't have many friends. The ones that I have, I'm very proud of and happy with.
"We don't get to spend too much time together but it isn't essential to meet friends everyday. The strength of a friendship lies in remaining proximate and warm even when you are physically away."
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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