Bankruptcy story of Amitabh Bachchan

Before a tall, thin man became what we know today as Big B or as the first Angry Young Man of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan went through multiple phases of extreme physical and financial challenges, which almost broke him to shatters.

Veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan went through a rather difficult period during the 1990s. He was embroiled in financial constraints. With the actor’s company falling into bankruptcy, Amitabh Bachchan was in debt of Rs 90 crore.

If things took a turn for the worse further, he could have even lost his home because all his assets were “attached” to the company. In a throwback interaction with journalist Vir Sanghvi, the 80-year-old recalled his struggling times back in the day. The Sholay actor also shed light on how he overcame the ordeal after director Yash Chopra offered him the film Mohabbatein.

Speaking on the topic, Amitabh Bachchan shared that since all his properties and assets were linked to that company, the actor’s house was seized and his properties confiscated. “So when you sign a personal guarantee, then you are personally liable to pay that,” he explained. A hefty sum of Rs 90 crore was to be paid before the seized possessions could be recovered.

To put more pressure, creditors used to arrive at Amitabh Bachchan’s door every day, asking him to return the loan amount. “I had 55 legal cases,” he revealed.

The B-town star remembered that the situation left him embarrassed and humiliated. The behaviour of the people who were earlier interested to work with him and the company changed drastically. They turned “hostile” and spoke very rudely to the actor.

Talking about his loan surge, Amitabh Bachchan revealed that many of the borrowers were associated with government agencies including Doordarshan and Prasar Bharti. Some were banks, financial centres, and personal loans. Others were guaranteed by him and his wife-actress Jaya Bachchan erroneously.

The actor said that his only regret was not getting any good financial advice. He was also assured that nothing could go wrong, due to which Amitabh Bachchan signed a handful of personal guarantees.

Not long after that, the late film director Yash Chopra came as a saviour to Amitabh Bachchan. He bagged the opportunity to star in the 2000 musical drama Mohabbatein, also starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead.

The film helped him get rid of some of his financial troubles. Amitabh Bachchan’s popular television show Kaun Banega Crorepati also helped him clear off the loans.