Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar were a force to be reckoned with. Their legendary partnership and the work that was produced then, gave birth to the new age of Hindi cinema. The partnership that saw the highest of the highs, crumbled under its own very weight and expectations. The Salim Khan – Javed Akhtar split remains one of the most talked-about splits.

Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar
Salim Khan, Javed AkhtarInstagram

The split

In an old interview with ETC, Salim Khan had revealed how the two decided to split. "Every box has an expiry date– this also had one. We were near Javed's house one evening when Javed told me he wanted to split, that he'd been thinking about it for some time now. I got up, shook hands with him and started walking towards my car. He also started to walk with me, but I held him, turned him towards his house and said, 'I can look after myself'," he said.

Helen, Salim Khan, Salma  Khan, Salman Khan

Salim Khan further added, "I came back home and didn't tell anyone about it. The next evening, calls started coming in asking about the split. I asked Javed whether he told anyone, he said only a few friends knew. It was only after a few days that I announced the split."

Salim Khan had revealed that the reason for the split was Javed Akhtar's willingness to venture into writing lyrics too. For which, Salim Khan was not prepared.

Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar

Impact on families

Now, in Arbaaz Khan's chat show, Pinch, Farhan Akhtar and Arbaaz addressed the split. The two revealed how whatever happened between the two, there was no sour blood between the families. "I find it incredible that whatever happened between Salim saab and us, it never trickled down to us. I never knew when the split happened. As years went by, I saw Salim saab wasn't coming home and that we weren't going over to his place."