Salim Khan opens up on Javed Akhtar’s sudden decision to part ways, recalls their unexpected conversation: ‘Maine unko roka aur bola...'

The legendary screenwriting partnership of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, famously known as Salim-Javed, came to an unexpected end in 1982 after a glorious run of 12 years, during which they delivered timeless blockbusters like Zanjeer, Deewar, and Sholay. In a recent interview with Magic Moments, Salim Khan revisited the moment Javed Akhtar told him he wanted to go his own way.
‘There was no fight, no bitterness’
When asked about the reason behind their split, Salim said even he never truly understood it. Javed had approached him one day and expressed a desire to separate. Salim initially thought he had misheard him, but Javed reiterated that it wasn’t a sudden decision—it was something he had been contemplating for a while.
“He said, ‘Main alag hona chaahta hoon (I want to separate),’ and I asked him if he had thought it through. He said he had been thinking about it for a long time,” Salim recalled.
Salim said he didn’t try to argue or stop him. In fact, when Javed offered to walk him to the car, Salim politely declined. “Maine unko roka aur bola, ‘I can look after myself’,” he said, adding that there was no bitterness between them and no fight—just a partnership that ended quietly one day.
He mentioned that he never asked Javed why it happened, as there was little point once the decision had been made. After the split, Javed went on to do his own projects, and various new announcements followed.

‘People thought Salim-Javed was one person’
In the same conversation, Salim shared a light-hearted memory about a blind producer who used to mistakenly address him as Javed. Many people thought of Salim-Javed as one name, he said, and this producer was no exception.
Salim never corrected him and once, while they were at an office, Javed—who had had a bit too much to drink—joked, “Salim sahab, dikhta nahi hai toh kya hua, hai toh mera fan (Even if he can’t see, he’s still my fan).” Salim quipped back, “He is your fan because he is blind.”

Despite their split, the legacy of Salim-Javed continues to live on as one of the most iconic partnerships in the history of Indian cinema.