From Agneepath, and Silsila to Swades, there are many Bollywood films that tanked at the box office, however, later became cult classics. Another such film, which had three superstars, failed at the box office.
The film we are talking about was rejected by Aamir Khan and its failure led the director into depression. It is none other than Farhan Akhtar’s second directorial Lakshya.
Lakshya is a coming-of-age war drama, set on the backdrop of the 1999 Kargil War. It tells the story of the story of Karan Shergill (Hrithik), an aimless, lazy young man, the son of a wealthy businessman from Delhi, who joins the Indian Army and matures into a battlefield hero just as war breaks out.
The film made on a budget of Rs 30 crore, starred Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Preity Zinta in key roles. However, despite an ensemble star cast, the film failed to make a mark at the box office and tanked miserably. The film only collected Rs 40 crore and was declared a flop at the box office.
However, do you know that Aamir Khan was first considered to lead the film? However, the actor rejected the film as he was busy shooting Mangal Pandey: The Rising. Similarly, Arjun Rampal was offered the role of Jalal Akbar, but he rejected the film, and Sushant Singh replaced him.
Farhan Akhtar, who directed the film, revealed in a recent interview, that the film’s failure led him into depression. He told Raj Shamani, “Bachpan se sunte aa rahe hai dil se mahenat karo toh reward milega. I was convinced that in my entire life, I hadn’t worked so hard the way I did for this film. So when that film was released it didn’t do well. Mein itna depressed hua tha ki yaar kaise ho gaya? Itni mehnat meine ki, Dil Chahta Hai meine hardly mehnat ki thi. Dil Chahta Hai mein the hard work that I did was to cast the right people. I was so depressed it took me a year and a half to come out of that depression.”
Though the film failed at the box office, over time it inspired many people and earned the status of a cult classic. Hrithik Roshan’s performance in the movie was described as ‘career-best’ and later Farhan and Hrithik worked together again in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
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