Long before Mukesh Khanna became synonymous with playing India's first homegrown superhero Shaktimaan and Bhishma Pitamah in Mahabharat, he was written off as a "copycat" of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. The veteran actor recently spoke with Bollywood Thikana and revealed how in the early days of his film career, media comparisons to Bachchan irked him.

Khanna revealed that the "copy" tag followed him from the very start of his career back in 1981 in Roohi and continued with films like Dard-e-Dil and Captain Barry. He mentioned, poor actors were compared with stars and Mithun Chakraborty was once called "Gareebo ka Amitabh Bachchan" in the press, Khanna admitted it must be unfair and his identity as a star was diminished by constant comparison with Bachchan.

"People would say, ‘You look like Amit ji, you copy him,’ especially after a string of my films flopped. Here, only success speaks the loudest," Khanna said. "But when Mahabharat came along, no one called me Amitabh’s copy anymore."

He also shared a personal account when Bachchan himself commented on this comparison. Once the actor narrated an anecdote about his friend who was with Bachchan at the drive-in theatre when Khanna's ad was on screen. Bachchan reportedly remarked, “Saala copy karta hai” (He’s copying me). Over time, the remark fuelled rumours that Bachchan’s words contributed to Khanna’s career struggles.

Khanna dismissed the notion, saying, “Amit ji kaun hai jo mere career ko rok sakte hai?” (Who is Amit ji to stop my career?). He emphasized that while every actor draws inspiration from others, it’s only when you mimic that it becomes detrimental. “Even Shah Rukh Khan has been inspired by Dilip saab. Amitabh Bachchan himself was influenced in his early roles. There’s nothing wrong with inspiration, but mimicking is a mistake I never made.”

Today, Mukesh Khanna is widely respected for carving out his own niche, proving that the early criticisms of being a “copy” were ultimately unfounded.