The glitter of Bollywood often hides the shadows of personal and financial struggles. For many film stars, the silver screen is not the only source of income. From real estate to business ventures, actors
have often sought to secure their future beyond films. While some found great success, others faced devastating losses. The most striking example is Amitabh Bachchan, who at the peak of his stardom ventured into business but soon found himself staring at bankruptcy.
Veteran actor Ashish Vidyarthi has now recalled that turbulent phase of Amitabh Bachchan’s life. In a candid conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Vidyarthi spoke about the towering star’s resilience during the days when creditors would queue outside his home. He also shared his personal experience of working with the superstar in those uncertain times.
“I can never forget the experience of working with him in Mrityudaata. This was his comeback film,” Vidyarthi recalled. Sharing a deeply personal anecdote when the megastar had written a letter to Vidyarthi’s mother, he said, “…my father was very old and mother had a heart attack. I used to go to Delhi every night to stay with him and then return to Mumbai by flight in the morning. During this time, I requested Amitabh ji if he could write a letter for my mother? He accepted my request and wrote the letter. My mother was then recovering from a heart attack and was on ventilator. I read out that letter to her.”
Despite the crisis he was facing, Bachchan never let his pain show on set. Vidyarthi added, “No one could tell by looking at him that he was going through such a difficult time. I worked with him again in Major Saab which came in 1998. He used to sit in his character all night. He neither removed his beard nor moustache, he used to wear everything. If anyone ever feels disappointed in his life, then Amit ji is the best example.”
The phase Vidyarthi referred to was one of the darkest chapters in Bachchan’s life. In the mid-1990s, his company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) suffered massive financial setbacks. The dream of building a corporate empire in entertainment collapsed, leaving him burdened with debts. “No one gave us good financial advice. We were assured that nothing would happen, so we signed the papers with personal guarantee without worry,” Bachchan himself admitted later.
At the time, even his iconic bungalow was under threat, with all his assets attached against loans. Amitabh Bachchan once described it as the “worst time of my life”, when he and Jaya Bachchan had unknowingly put their personal guarantee against the company’s borrowings.
Yet, what defined Bachchan during those days was not defeat but determination. Vidyarthi emphasised, “People complain about not getting work and being left behind, but what all he has suffered. There was a time when he had a hold over the whole country. After he got injured on the sets of Coolie, people did not even eat food. When he was on the verge of bankruptcy, he faced that time too bravely. He never cried for anything in front of anyone.”
From near-bankruptcy to once again becoming one of the most successful actors and respected personalities in India, Amitabh Bachchan’s journey remains an example of resilience and survival in the face of unimaginable odds.
