When Amitabh Bachchan described ‘frightening’ experience of his fame ‘withering away’: ‘You go unnoticed, autograph books are snatched…’

This personal reckoning came not just with fading stardom, but under the weight of a financial collapse. By the late 1990s, Amitabh was grappling with major debt. His production company, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. (ABCL), had failed, and the actor found himself in the midst of mounting legal disputes. The reported liabilities stood at Rs 90 crore. He later described the experience as humiliating, with creditors constantly at his door and his assets under threat. During this period, his son Abhishek Bachchan, then studying at Boston University, decided to return home. In a recent interview with Ranveer Allahbadia, Abhishek recalled: “Truth be told, I left university. I was studying in Boston University… I left my education because my father was going through this really rough time, financially. He had started this business called ABCL.”

Also Read | Amitabh Bachchan wasn’t even able to pay his watchman during financial crisis, ‘whole Bollywood was laughing at him’: Rajinikanth hails Big B’s resilience

The family made difficult decisions. Properties in Mumbai, including their Juhu home, were considered for sale. Amitabhh reportedly walked to filmmaker Yash Chopra’s house because he couldn’t afford a driver. He refused financial assistance, insisting on earning his way back. That conversation with Chopra led to a role in Mohabbatein. Shortly after, he was cast as the host of Kaun Banega Crorepati, a move that would prove pivotal in reviving his public image and career.

Yet even with the return of work and recognition, the experience left a mark. In his blog, Amitabh described the hunger for public attention in stark terms: “Attention is an elixir. When it is not available you shrink. A desolate traveller in search of that oasis in a turbid desert. But you never find it. An inviting mirage keeps beckoning. Only to disappoint. And then you perish.”