Director Mehul Kumar, who worked with Amitabh Bachchan on the film Mrityudaata in 1997, recalled how the superstar himself approached him for work at a time when his career was going through a difficult phase. In the 1990s, Amitabh hadn’t yet transitioned from lead roles to supporting roles, and had spent a lot of his time and resources on launching his ambitious ABCL venture. In the same year as Mrityudaata’s release, the company attracted negative press for unpaid dues following the Miss World pageant that it organised.
It was during this time that Amitabh approached Mehul Kumar at a party and asked if he had any ‘garma-garam’ script. In an interview on the Friday Talkies YouTube channel, the filmmaker recalled, “It was at the Rangeela music launch, Amit ji was there as well. He met me and asked, ‘Sir, aapke paas koi garma-garam hai?‘ I asked, ‘For whom?’ He replied, ‘For me, who else?’ He wasn’t doing films at the time, and I told him that I had something for him. The next day I get a call from his office, following up on his request. We arranged a meeting, and I narrated the film to him. He liked it, and said that he was going to do it.”
Also read – ‘Rajinikanth refused to work with Raaj Kumar in Tirangaa, Nana Patekar threatened to walk off set if he interfered’: Director Mehul Kumar
Amitabh Bachchan starrer Mrityudaata was highly criticised by the audience and the critics. (Photo: Express Archives)
He continued, “We completed the film in six months. It was Amit ji’s comeback film, and I’m proud to have directed it. I also directed Raaj Kumar’s comeback film.” Mrityudaata wasn’t well received, and bombed at the box office. In a 1999 chat with Vir Sanghvi, Amitabh revealed that his wife, Jaya, ‘didn’t sit through‘ the film.
The story of Amitabh asking Yash Chopra for work remains well-known. After the bankruptcy of ABCL, and the subsequent humiliation that Amitabh faced, At the India Today Unforgettables stage in 2016, Amitabh had said, “I had a huge financial failure in the corporation that I began. It went bankrupt and it bankrupted me. You sit back and think ‘What can I do?’ and I said, ‘You are an actor. Go back to acting so, that’s what I did. I went to Yash ji and said I am without a job. I need it.” And that’s how Mohabbatein happened. Amitabh remains the most admired male star of his generation, and recently delivered the biggest hit of his career in Kalki 2898 AD.
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