From bankruptcy to being a bankable star in his 70s, Amitabh Bachchan is the ‘Shahenshah’ of comebacks

Stars have come and stars have gone but Amitabh Bachchan seems to go on forever.

Bollywood had seen its fair share of superstars who commanded a legion of fans and sycophant admirers. However, no star till date, has enjoyed the longevity that Bachchan has enjoyed. There have been many leading men who once surrounded by hordes of adoring fans, found themselves as ‘has-beens’, unceremoniously uprooted to make way for the ‘next big thing’. A recent example would be that 2012 tragicomic fan commercial, featuring a yesteryear superstar pointing to the revolving fan above his head and making a wistful self-deprecating joke that nobody could take his ‘fans’ away from him. One can't help but recall the words of celebrated poet Emily Dickinson “fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate”, in this case.

However, Bachchan who turned 80 on Tuesday, seems to have had the last laugh. With a career that spans over six decades, the ‘Angry Young Man’ has kept himself relevant in each decade and embraced the cultural ethos of each generation.


However it’s not as if Lady Fortune did not test him. His 53-year-old career has tasted the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. At his peak (the 1970s and 80s) the ‘Zanjeer’ star tasted stratospheric success. From ‘Deewar’ to ‘Abhimaan’ it seemed as if the man could never falter at the box-office. French auteur François Truffaut aptly described him as a “one-man industry’’.

However, this dream run did not last. There was a time when Bachchan went from being the industry darling to almost being written off for lacklustre performance at the box-office. The years between 1984-1999 witnessed many of his misadventures in business and politics.

As his stars temporarily dimmed, he had to brave through several scandals, face bankruptcy and public ridicule. Yet like a phoenix, he rose from the ashes. The way he made past these seemingly insurmountable challenges, and re-established himself as a bankable star is a story for the ages.

Short-lived Political Career Of Shahenshah

In 1984, Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India asked him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from his hometown Allahabad. Although the ‘Namak Halaal’ star had a strong start, defeating Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna who was a formidable figure in UP politics by a whopping margin of 187,895 votes, he soon lost all public goodwill when his name got involved in the Bofors scam (a weapons -contract political scandal between India and Sweden) along with Gandhi. Faced by a massive backlash, the actor decided to quit politics. Nearly 25 years later, when his name got cleared, the ‘Black’ actor expressed his thoughts on his personal blog ‘Bachchan Bol’. “When my family and I were loaded with accusations of the Bofors Scandal, they painted every aspect of our existence with the darkest colours ever…25 years later, the prosecutor on the event, made public the truth – the name of the Bachchans were ‘planted!!’For 25 years you live under the burden of deceit and lies.. When it is disclosed, they ask me for my reaction ! What reaction may I give.. what does one say.. who does one say it to.. can they wipe away the pain of 25 years..will they be able to diminish the tainted colour of defamation..!!?? ’’ read one of his posts.

1988-2000 Major Setbacks

Although his career had a mini-boost in the form of blockbusters ‘Shahenshah’ (1988), ‘Agneepath’ (1990), ‘Hum’ (1991), and ‘Khuda Gawah’ (1992), many of his movies also got panned by the critics and proved to be no-starters at the BO. After a long series of duds like ‘ Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi’ , ‘Jaadugar’, ‘Toofan’, ‘Main Azaad Hoon’, the Illustrated Weekly of India magazine, put Bachchan on their cover with the scathing headline, “Finished!” From 1992-1996, the actor went into a hiatus.

Bachchan’s brush with bad luck continued as ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd), the entertainment company he launched in 1995, turned into a financial disaster. The company had some initial success. It produced the hit TV show, ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’. However it soon got involved in mismanagement controversies. The 1996 Miss World pageant fiasco brought more notoriety to the company. The company attempted to bring the Miss World beauty contest to India. Contestants from over 90 countries assembled in Bengaluru but following public outcry, the swimsuit contest had to be shifted to Seychelles.

This dented the image of ABCL. To add insult to injury, the films produced by the company bombed at the BO. This ultimately led to a crippling loss of Rs 90 crore. To make things worse, Bachchan's comeback film ‘Mrityudata’ (1997) also turned out to be a dud. By 1999, Bachchan was facing bankruptcy and was in danger of losing his home ‘Prateeksha’. In a 2013 interview with India Today, the ‘Muqaddar Ka Sikandar’ star reminisced about this dark period. “That was undoubtedly one of the darkest periods of my 44 year old career. I can never forget how creditors used to land at our door, be abusive, threatening and demanding, and worse still, when they came for ‘kudkee’ at Prateeksha, our residence,” the star was quoted as saying to the English daily.

The Grand Comeback

Bachchan decided to do what he did best - act. To pay off his creditors, he reinvented himself, this time as a supporting actor. Debt-ridden, the actor approached producer-director Yash Chopra for work. “I got up and walked to Yashji (Chopra, filmmaker), who stayed behind my house. I implored him to give me work. That is when the worm turned, he gave me Mohabbatein,” the star was quoted as saying to India Today in 2013.

Although this was a desperate move to clear his debts, it gave Bachchan’s career a second lease of life. Released in 2000, ‘Mohabbatein’ was one of the highest grossers of the year. Amitabh’s performance as Narayan Shankar, a strict disciplinarian was lauded both by critics as well as the audience. His words describing the institution he runs “Parampara, Pratistha aur Anushashan” (tradition, honour and discipline) have gone on to be part of memes and pop culture. ‘Mohabbatein’ was followed by other hits like the family drama ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’, the tearjerker ‘Baghban’ and many others.

Bachchan also made his small screen debut as the host of the TV show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (inspired by the British reality show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ in 2000. KBC made him a household name in no time.

Today the Big B is a force to reckon with in the industry again. He has critical and commercial hits to his name like ‘Pink’, ‘Paa’, ‘Piku’ etc.

Bachchan’s comeback story is a valuable life lesson for persevering under adversity and re-inventing on-self. Maybe Big B’s USP was not his baritone voice or smouldering looks but his relentless thirst for re-innovating himself and moving on with the times.