Big B: My cop character in Khakhee was Vijay from Zanjeer

Khakee

is remembered with shuddering immediacy for Aishwarya Rai’s near-fatal accident. During a stunt sequence, a car rammed into a chair she was sitting on. Miraculously, she escaped with only a fractured leg and minor injuries.
In the film, Amitabh Bachchan played an aging and asthmatic DCP, Anant Srivastav, whose career had thus far afforded him a cushy existence. However, he suddenly finds himself in charge of a critical mission. Backed by the unscrupulous Shekhar (Akshay Kumar) and the overenthusiastic new recruit (Tusshar Kapoor), Anant must lead a team—including two constables—to safely escort the most-wanted ISI agent, Iqbal Ansari (Atul Kulkarni), to Mumbai.
Recalling the experience, Bachchan shares, “In a very roundabout way, I see Khakee as an extension of 'Baghban'… Let me explain. In both films, I was placed in the central position in the plot. In 'Khakee', I played a 60-something cop on the verge of retirement—haggard, paunchy, and unwell—who is suddenly tasked with leading a dangerous mission. The experience becomes a nightmare for him, but he emerges wiser, albeit more battered. There’s a moment where he tells his juniors to quit because they have their whole lives ahead of them. But they turn around and say, ‘Nothing doing, buddy. We’re with you all the way.’”
For Bachchan, 'Khakee' holds an important place in his career. “It made a very pertinent comment on the secular backbone of our country. I’d say my character in Khakee was like Vijay from '

Zanjeer

', but 30 years older. The physical action was tailored to my character’s age—we didn’t make him a superman. He was slowed down by age, and that was deliberately shown. It was a very real portrayal of a cop. For example, when he was chasing Ajay Devgn, he couldn’t keep up with him, and we depicted that realistically.”

Bachchan admits that his role in Khakee is his favorite cop role since 'Zanjeer'. “I’ve played cops multiple times, but never one who acted so completely in character. Shooting this film was a great joy. I now understand why so many people advised me to work with Raj Santoshi earlier in my career. I was so glad I finally did. He was supposed to direct our home production, Ranveer, and I hoped to collaborate on more projects with him. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. We worked together on just one other film, 'Family'.”
Raj Kumar Santoshi

also fondly recalls Khakee: “Is it really 21 years since 'Khakee'? That was such a special film for me. I finally got to work with Amitji and Aishwarya after many failed attempts. I guess everything happens at the right time. Aishwarya and I were supposed to work together in a film called Saamna. In fact, the first script I narrated to her was later made as 'Dil Hai Tumhara' by Kundan Shah, with Preity Zinta. We had discussed several projects. She loved Lajja and wanted to be part of it, but there were date conflicts. We had planned for her to play Sita in a Ramayan episode in Lajja.
“I’d like to believe 'Khakee' is memorable for more reasons than Aishwarya’s accident. As for Amitji, what can I say? He’s every director’s dream actor. His involvement in Khakee was complete and deeply inspiring. I wish I could’ve done a hundred more films with him. Unfortunately, we only worked on one other project together.”