Amitabh Bachchan Accused Mukesh Khanna Of ‘Copying’ Him, Mukesh Khanna Gave A Strong Response

Whenever the 70s and 80s of Bollywood, it was all about the big changes the industry saw during this era. From legendary movies to larger-than-life personalities, that era was definitely memorable. Although the period yielded some of the most iconic movie scenes, it was also a time of intense rivalries. Rivalry among performers, directors, and even production companies has become so common in this era that people find some kind of rivalry in every movie.

One such famous rivalry was between Mukesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. The rivalry peaked when Bachchan accused Khanna of copying his style, sparking a furious argument between the two.

Amitabh Bachchan called out Mukesh Khanna for copying his style

Mukesh Khanna, who became extremely famous with Shaktimaan, stated in an interview that it upset him much to be compared to Amitabh Bachchan so early in his career. He said,

Media once called Mithun Chakraborty, ‘Gareebo ka Amitabh Bachchan.’ I don’t know how he reacted, but if I was told that, I would’ve said, ‘Shut up.’ They would say, ‘You look like Amit ji, you copy him.’ A string of my films flopped, which is why people said that. Here, only success speaks the loudest. When Mahabharat happened, no one gave me the label of Amitabh Bachchan, which happened a lot during my film career.

He also added that Bachchan himself had accused him of imitating his ways. Mukesh said,

People would say, ‘You weren’t successful because you look like him, and now that Amitabh Bachchan himself said that you copy him, your career is over.’

Mukesh Khanna then boldly questioned who Amitabh Bachchan was to determine the course of his career in response. He added,

He did say that, but will I be a flop because of that? Amit ji kaun hai jo mere career ko rok sakte hai? 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, ‘Saala copy karta hai.’ Years later, some YouTubers took the quote and wrote, ‘Amit ji’s one line destroyed my career.

Mukesh explained how taking inspiration is different from imitation

Mukesh went on to say that all actors find inspiration in other actors. He gave instances of how notable actors like Dilip Kumar had an impact on actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Kumar. However, he did stress that inspiration is not the same as imitation, which he never practiced.

Every actor is inspired by some other– Manoj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar were inspired by Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh is heavily inspired by Dilip Saab too. Even the initial roles of Amitabh Bachchan were inspired and why not, because you take in from what you see. There is nothing in that But if you do mimicry in your films, then you will be destroyed. Which is what I didn’t do.

Meanwhile, despite being accused of mimicking Bachchan’s manner, Khanna fiercely defended himself. While he accepted that great actors may have an impact on others, he was adamant that his professional path was not determined by these kinds of comparisons.

What do you think about these accusations? Was Amitabh Bachchan right about Mukesh imitating him or was it just assumptions? Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section of this article.