Birthday special: When Salim Khan revealed why he never wrote a film for his superstar son Salman Khan

New Delhi: Salman Khan’s father needs no introduction, at least not to our parents. A larger part of our generation learned about the legendary Hindi film writer via his documentary Angry Young Men. The four-episode docuseries gave us some notable insights into his launch into the Hindi film industry and his bond with his writing partner Javed Akhtar. Popularly known as Salim-Javed, the iconic pair penned some smashing hits like Zanjeer, Sholay, Andaz, Seeta Aur Geeta and more (a total of 24 films).

Today (November 24), Salim is celebrating his 89th birthday and wishes are pouring in for the veteran writer. However, despite writing films for actors like Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, he never penned a film for his superstar son Salman Khan.

Why did Salim Khan never write a film for son Salman Khan?

In an interview with Indu Mirani in 2014, the veteran writer opened up on the actual reason behind not writing a film for Salman. He stated, “When a person goes to anybody, he says 'Sir, my paas is a very amazing script, you listen to it'. Then his first thought would be that if he had such a wonderful script then why didn't he make it with his son? (When a person approaches someone, they say, ‘Sir, I have an amazing script; please hear it out.’ The first thought that comes to mind is, if this script is so amazing, why didn’t they make it with their own son?).

He further added, “And then if I continue to work with Salman Khan, it is a big risk. If you hit, it's yours, if you flop, it's daddy's. (If I keep making movies with Salman Khan, then there is a huge risk. If it is a hit then it is his film, if it’s a flop, then it’s my film).”

Salim has never written scripts for his sons—Salman, Arbaaz, and Sohail Khan—although they often seek his advice on their film projects.