Prem Chopra Compares Rajesh Khanna’s Failure With Amitabh Bachchan, Says Audience Didn’t Accept His Old Style After He Tried To Retain & “Not Everyone Would Take His Coming Late On The Sets”
Recently, Prem Chopra opened up about Rajesh Khanna’s fading stardom which he couldn’t face. Read on for more details!
Prem Chopra Compares Rajesh Khanna’s Failure With Amitabh Bachchan, Says Audience Didn’t Accept His Old Style (Photo Credit: IMDb; Instagram)
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Time and again, we have seen yesteryear’s actors opening up about old films, their working style and their colleagues. We often come across different and exciting anecdotes from gold old times that often reveal how difficult it was to work with egoistic male stars. While a few actors soon vanished from the limelight, others made it big in the industry. However, there are some who enjoyed stardom for a short time, and it soon faded away. One from the latter list is Rajesh Khanna- Prem Chopra opens up about the same.
In a recent interview, the veteran actor, who played villainous characters in a major number of films, revealed how Khanna couldn’t face fading stardom while comparing it to Amitabh Bachchan.
Speaking to Bollywood Thikana, Prem Chopra said about Rajesh Khanna, “He continued the same style (as the time when he was a superstar) and those films did not work either. That is why he had to (suffer a downfall in his fame). He could not face that thing – where I was and where I am now. He tried to retain his old style, but the audience didn’t accept it.”
He went on to compare Rajesh Khanna’s failure with Big B and said Amitabh Bachchan was different. “He was a superstar for so many years, but he moved on to character roles at the right time. I am sometimes surprised, at this age, he is busier than he was before. Amitabh Bachchan was always an intelligent and punctual actor. Rajesh Khanna was also a great actor, but he got this habit of reaching late all the time. Not everyone would take it when he landed late on sets. Hours after everyone reached and got ready, he would reach the sets. The producers would even ask him to have lunch before the shot, but he made sure he completed the day’s work.”
Recalling an anecdote from Haathi Mere Saathi Sets, Prem Chopra revealed the producer had hired a person who he’d beat in front of Rajesh Khanna for arriving late on the sets. And when the superstar got the hint, he started arriving on time a few days later.
Stay tuned to Koimoi for more such interesting throwback stories!
