When Javed Akhtar praised Amitabh Bachchan for ‘Saudagar’ and ‘Mili’

Mumbai, Sep 23 (IANS) Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar who is known for his commendable contribution to the Hindi Film industry, once praised Superstar Amitabh Bachchan for his iconic films ‘Saudagar’ and ‘Mili’. 

In a throwback video, Javed refers to Big B and says, “Kuch picturein hain jo ki unke itne bade star banane se pahle ki filmein hain, un mein se ek film hai ‘Saudagar’, ye ‘Saudagar’ nahin. pehli, asli wali, toh us mein Nootan jee heroine thi. Us mein bahut kamaal ka kaam hai, toh main bajaye ki koi ek scene ya ek dailogue aapko bataun, main aapko ye do filmein keh raha hoon.

(Some films were made before he became such a big star, one of them is Saudagar. Not this one, the first one, the original one. So, in that film, Mr. Nootan was the heroine. There is a wonderful work in that film. So, instead of telling you a scene or a dialogue, I am telling you about these two films.)

“Main inka isliye zikar kar raha hoon ki jab bhi main padhta hoon ya sunta hoon ki Amitabh Bachchan sahab ki taareef ho rahi hai, jo ki aksar hoti hai, toh jin fillmon ka zikar hota hai, aaj tak maine inn filmon ka naam un mein nahin suna hai.” Javed concluded.

(And I am telling you about these films because whenever I read or listen to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, who is being praised a lot, I have never heard the name of these films mentioned in those films.)

Saudagar is a 1973 Bollywood drama film, helmed by Sudhendu Roy and based on the Bengali story, Ras, by Narendranath Mitra. It stars Nutan as Mahzubeen and Amitabh Bachchan as Moti, in the leading roles.

It also featured Trilok Kapoor and Padma Khanna, Leela Mishra, Dev Kishan, Jugnu and V. Gopal are also featured in the film. The drama film was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 46th Academy Awards but didn't receive a nomination.

On the other hand, The 1975 romantic drama Mili was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee who is hailed as one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of Indian Cinema. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Ashok Kumar in lead roles.

For the unversed, Jaya Bachchan received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress which was the only nomination for the film. The film was remade in Telugu in 1976 as Jyothi starring Jayasudha and Murali Mohan.