This superstar has seen his share of back-to-back failures. He is now the Shahenshah of Bollywood.
This actor we are talking about today is considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. With career spanning over five decades, he has played pivotal roles in over 200 films. He has been described as a ‘one-man industry’ by French director François Truffaut. He is a recipient of several accolades including six National Film Awards and sixteen Filmfare Awards. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001, the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, and India’s highest award in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2018 for his contributions to the arts.
His career has seen many ups and downs. He began his journey in 1969 with the film Saat Hindustani, but he struggled for years to make a name for himself. It was only after one film that he caught the attention of filmmakers and established his place in the industry. However, a single misstep led to a downturn in his career. Alongside acting, he ventured into filmmaking but couldn’t find success. In a short span, the veteran actor, known as the “Shahenshah” of the industry, found himself facing severe financial hardships.
In his acting career, Amitabh Bachchan has worked in many blockbuster films like Mard, Amar Akbar Anthony and Sholay. After Rajesh Khanna, he was called the second superstar of the industry. However, many of his films flopped long after his debut film. Amitabh Bachchan was on the brink of quitting the film industry after enduring about 11 consecutive flops. However, Zanjeer became the turning point in his career and revived his career in Bollywood. To enhance the film’s commercial appeal, Jaya Bachchan, who was a top star at the time, was cast alongside him. In a conversation with Arbaaz Khan, Salim Khan revealed that several prominent actors, including Dharmendra, Dev Anand, and Dilip Kumar, were initially considered for the lead role in Zanjeer, not Amitabh Bachchan.
Dharmendra and Dev Anand declined the role for personal reasons, while Dilip Kumar felt the character was too one-dimensional. Later, Dilip Kumar admitted he regretted passing on the film. “It was a matter of destiny,” Salim shared. “We had Dharmendra in mind, and he didn’t do it, something that I always feel a bit sad about. Dev rejected it for his own personal reasons. I asked Dilip Kumar later which film he regretted not doing, and he said it was Zanjeer.”
Amitabh Bachchan as a filmmaker
Then a time came when Amitabh Bachchan tried his hand at filmmaking and this decision proved to be the biggest wrong decision of his life. There was a time in Amitabh Bachchan’s life when he opened a company named ‘Corporation Limited’. He decided to produce many films under this company. But this proved to be wrong. All the films made under this company proved to be a huge flop.
According to media reports, Amitabh Bachchan started his company ABCL Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited by spending about 60 crores. Initially, he also earned a profit of 15 crores. But there were also projects which caused huge losses to Big B. The films made by his company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) included films like Mrityudaata, Family, Saat Rang Ke Sapne, Aks, Major Sahab. But all these films were flops.
