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In the 1990s, megastar Amitabh Bachchan felt that the euphoria around film stars was nothing like how it was in the 1950s, and recalled witnessing the aura of actors like Dilip Kumar and Kamini Kaushal when he was a schoolkid in Uttar Pradesh. In a conversation with the late superstar Rajesh Khanna, published in Movie magazine, Bachchan spoke about the emerging crop of stars, and said that the era of superstardom was probably over.
Bachchan recalled the country going through a period when the “mystique of cinema and its heroes still existed”. The actor reflected on his own declining popularity, and mused about the new era of actors at the time. “I’ll give you an example of how times have changed. As a school boy, I was in Allahabad when Kamini Kaushal and Dilip saheb were shooting for Shaheed. The crowd almost overturned the train, and the thing that I still remember is, that it was the talk of the town, that the glass windows of the air-conditioned coach, in which Kamini Kaushal was present, broke. I am talking about late 40s early 50s. That kind of mystique about film stars doesn’t exist anymore,” he added.
Shakti starred Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar in lead roles.
In the same interview, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna were asked if they could foresee any single superstar ruling the roost in the future. To which, Bachchan replied, “I don’t believe in those epithets of superstars. Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol and Jackie are ruling the roost already. I even have to watch some of the newcomers.”
Rajesh Khanna had an elaborate answer, highlighting that when Amitabh Bachchan was at the top of his game, no other star came anywhere near him. “You were No. 1 to 10, the next one was No. 11. Before that there was only Rajesh Khanna. I have nothing against the juniors, but they aren’t superstar material at all. They are easily replaceable. Today, a filmmaker says, ‘Jackie Shroff ki date nahin mili hai to kisi aur ko le lo.’ Whereas, they say, ‘Agar Amitabh Bachchan nahi milta hai, we will wait, or will not make the subject.”
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