The most expensive Indian film was a massive box office bomb, leading the director to quit acting and the actress never working in Bollywood again.
It is a weird coincidence that pretty often, the biggest Indian films – in terms of production budgets – have bombed at the box office. The hype, the scale, and the star cast are supposed to make these films big grosser. But, it does not always pan out. One such case is this 1990 mega flop, which was the most expensive Indian film ever made, despite the fact that it had four superstars.
India’s biggest flop film was...
Ajooba, the ambitious superhero fantasy film based on the legend of King Arthur, was released in 1990. Produced and directed by Shashi Kapoor, it was joint venture between RK and Russian production houses. The film was made on a then-record budget of Rs 8 crore, the highest in the history of Indian cinema at that point, and boasted of visual effects of international stature. However, despite all this, Ajooba grossed only Rs 3.50 crore in India and ended up as a massive financial failure.
Ajoob’s massive star cast
Ajooba starred Amitabh Bachchan as the titular superhero/prince, alongside other big stars of the time, including Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, and Shammi Kapoor. In Amrish Puri, it had the biggest villain of the era, and also boasted of other popular actors like Saeed Jaffrey, Dalip Tahil, Sonam, and Dara Singh. Russian actress Ariadna Shengelaya also debuted in the film. But the film’s failure’s impact was such that she never worked in India again.
Ajooba’s impact on Shashi Kapoor
For director Shashi Kapoor as well, the film’s failure was a heavy pill to swallow. The veteran actor had turned director for the first time ever and this was the Kapoor family's first major film since the death of Raj Kapoor. Naturally, the box office failure demotivated him to a point where he never attempted direction again and returned to acting, which also, he did only sporadically. Within a few years, Shashi Kapoor bid adieu to Bollywood.
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 "Shammi Kapoor and Ariadna Shengelaya in Ajooba")
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