‘Emotional’ Amitabh Bachchan recalls Dhirubhai Ambani offering monetary help during bankruptcy: ‘Iska bura waqt hai…’ Watch throwback video

“There was a phase in my life when I went bankrupt. The company I had built suffered losses, I had debts, my personal bank balance was zero. All my avenues to earn were shut and the government had raided my house,” Bachchan says in the old video shared by Bollywood Tehelka.

The megastar had started his company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited in the 1990s but it failed to take off and the firm soon went bankrupt, leaving the Bachchan family in a lot of debt. At the ceremony, Bachchan recalled how Dhirubhai learnt about his condition and told his younger son Anil Ambani, “‘Iska bura waqt hai, isey kuch paise de do.'”

The actor said when Anil came him and told him this, he was touched. “Whatever he had to offer, all my financial troubles would have been solved. I got emotional at his generosity but turned it down. God was kind and after some tough days, the tide changed. I started getting work and slowly I could repay all my debts.”

Bachchan said later he was invited to Dhirubhai Ambani’s residence for a special occasion. When he went there, he saw that Dhirubhai Ambani was busy talking to the biggest of names from the business world.

“When he saw me, he called me and asked me to sit with him. I felt a little awkward. I told him that I am comfortable there with my friends but he insisted and made me sit. Then, in front of all the stalwarts, he said…” Bachchan said and paused briefly, as he started choking up narrating the incident.

“Ye ladka gir gaya tha, lekin apne bal pe phir khada ho gaya, main iski izzat karta hu (This boy had fallen, but he bounced back on his feet, on his own, and I respect him).” His words and generosity was more valuable to me than the sum he had offered to help me come out of that crisis. This was his character,” he added.