Published By: Sayan Paul

Happy Birthday, Salim Khan: Did You Know The Legendary Screenwriter Is Also A Trained Pilot?

The celebrated screenwriter received his Pilot's license in 1958 when he was just 22 years old.

Remember those hardcore Bollywood masala films from the 1970s? Yes, especially the ones starring Amitabh Bachchan as the "angry young man". Well, Salim Khan was the brain behind most of those blockbusters that resonated with the masses so deeply. He, along with Javed Akhtar, made the prolific screenwriting duo of Salim–Javed, revolutionizing Bollywood completely. While working together, Khan developed the stories and characters, while Akhtar was largely responsible for writing the dialogues. During the 70s and early 80s, they emerged as India's first screenwriters to achieve star status. In fact, you would be surprised to know that their fees used to be even higher than many lead actors at that time. Some of their notable works are 'Sholay' (the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time of its release), 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Deewaar', 'Zanjeer', and 'Trishul'.

Salim-Javed: The Angry Young Men

Besides being a screenwriter, Khan is also a prolific actor and film producer. And not many know that he is a trained pilot as well. Yes, you read it absolutely right! Today, on the occasion of his 89th birthday, let's learn about that in this article.

Salim Khan - A Trained Pilot

While growing up in Indore, Salim Khan was more interested in sports than studies. And as a young man, he used to fly planes.

In 1958, at the age of 22, he received his Pilot's license. At that time, he used to fly the de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth biplane which was used by flying clubs across India to train aspiring pilots.

Speaking about his passion for flying, and his foray into writing, Khan shared in one of his interviews, "I used to play cricket, I was ambitious. I was a batsman. One day I saw Salim Durani play. He used to practice in Indore and play from Rajasthan. He was a friend of mine. Even now we are friends. When I saw him play, I thought I would never be able to play as well as he does. So, I quit playing.

(Credit: Film History Pics)

Then I took up flying. I flew for over 100 hours and even had to forceland once. But flying comes with a lot of responsibility. You are directly responsible for the safety of 200-300 odd passengers. You can't afford to break the rules. I realized flying was not about gliding over your girlfriend's house or doing heroic things and shooting guns or dropping bombs. It isn't always romantic. So, I stopped flying. So, basically, I quit playing cricket, stopped acting, and then flying. But when I started writing, I felt strangely comfortable and confident. I took it up very seriously and was very sincere and honest. These days writers lock themselves in a hotel room and finish their scripts in 8 days. In our time, we would take 6-7 months to finish a script. We kept on revising and improvising till it met our standards."

Salim Khan with his son, superstar Salman Khan

Salim Khan - Some Other Interesting Facts

During his school days, Khan was encouraged by his classmates to try and become a film star - thanks to his good looks. And he did act in some Hindi films during his early career.

(Credit: Film History Pics)

As already mentioned, Khan used to play cricket passionately while growing up. Initially, he aspired to become a cricketer.

It was during the making of 'Sarhadi Lootera' that he met Javed Akhtar for the first time.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Khan. Thanks For All The Amazing Films!