When Shatrughan Sinha opened up on rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan: 'Stardom and popularity can be intoxicating'

Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan have worked together in many movies like 'Dostana', 'Kaala Patthar' and 'Naseeb'. However, there were always reports of their rivalry on set. While at that point in time, neither of the two reacted to it, many years later, Sinha had actually spoken about it in an interview and also wrote about it in his memoir.

In his memoir, Anything But Khamosh, Sinha had said that Bachchan didn't want him in some of the films due to the audience's reaction on his performance. "The problem was the applause I was getting for my performances," he stated. Earlier, in an interview with Aaj Tak, he revealed that the rivalry was in the past and now they are good friends. He had said, "Things are good now. Sometimes you clash, and sometimes people make you clash. Kuch unki harqat, kuch meri (sometimes it was his behavior, sometimes it was mine). Stardom and popularity can be intoxicating. Ya phir josh mein hosh kho dete hai (sometimes you lose control in excitement)."

He also added, "Misunderstandings happen, and they sometimes grow. Then maturity sets in, and you realise it shouldn’t have happened. When it comes to Amitabh, I feel sorry, and I am sure he must have realized it too. Today, we respect each other a lot and are good friends again. He is senior to me in age but slightly junior to me in films. But we are good friends."

The veteran actor explained that misunderstandings between them escalated over time but were eventually resolved. Looking back, he regrets how things unfolded. “Misunderstandings happen, and they sometimes grow. Then maturity sets in, and you realise it shouldn’t have happened. When it comes to Amitabh, I feel sorry, and I am sure he must have realized it too. Today, we respect each other a lot and are good friends again. He is senior to me in age but slightly junior to me in films. But we are good friends," he stated.

In his memoir, Sinha had also revealed, "The chair next to Amitabh wouldn’t be offered to me, nor would his umbrella ever cover any of us. We’d be heading to the same hotel from the location, but he’d sit in his car and never say, ‘Let’s go together.’ I found it strange because I never had any complaints against him."

Eventually, due to their rivalry, the duo amicably backed out of many projects and also returned the signing amount. For those not in the know, Sinha had also returned the sweets which were sent after Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's wedding as he was upset about not being invited. The actor had said that what should he do with the sweets when he wasn't even invited.

Abhishek and Aishwarya both had reacted to this on 'Koffee With Karan' and said that since Teji Bachchan was hospitalised and not keeping well, they could not have a grand wedding and hence couldn't invite everyone, even though they would have wanted to.