Amitabh Bachchan once accused Mukesh Khanna of copying him; Shaktimaan actor recalls people would say, ‘Your career is over’

Amitabh Bachchan, who started his career with Saat Hindustani in 1969, has emerged as one of the most prominent and celebrated actors in Hindi cinema. Do you know that Big B once allegedly accused actor Mukesh Khanna of copying him? Shaktimaan actor recently recalled that people would tell him that his career was over as he would imitate the megastar.

In a new interview with Bollywood Thikhana, Mukesh Khanna recalled the time when he was compared to Amitabh Bachchan in the initial days of his career. Khanna stated that the media used to refer to Mithun Chakraborty as ‘gareebon ka Amitabh Bachchan’. The Shaktimaan actor shared that he would have asked people to ‘shut up’ if they referred to him like that.

Khanna remembered that people would tell him that he resembled Big B and that the former copied him as a few of his films flopped back then. The Hera Pheri actor continued that he would be told that copying the megastar has cost him his career.

Mukesh Khanna confirmed that Amitabh Bachchan accused him of imitating the megastar in movies and added that he can’t be a “flop” due to the comparison. 

“Amit ji kaun hain jo mere career ko rok sakte hai? (Amitabh Bachchan can’t stop my career). A friend of mine had told me how he was watching a film with Amit ji. It was a drive-in theatre, and he was on the bonnet. When my ad came, he saw it and said, ‘S**la copy karta hai’ (He copies me). Years later, some YouTubers took the quote and wrote, ‘Amit ji’s one line destroyed my career’,” Khanna recalled.

On the work front, Mukesh Khanna has worked in movies like Saugandh, Dard-E-Dil, International Khiladi, Hera Pheri, Raja, Tahalka and more.

Amitabh Bachchan, on the other hand, was last seen in Nag Ashwin’s Telugu directorial venture, Kalki 2898 AD, earlier this year. The 81-year-old megastar now has Rajinikanth-starrer Vettaiyan scheduled to be released this year.

Big B became famous as an ‘angry young man’ in the 70s. He has been a part of several iconic movies over the years, including Sholay, Zanjeer, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and more.

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