‘No One Would Offer Him Films’: Hanif Zaveri on Why Amitabh Bachchan Turned Producer

Amitabh Bachchan is one of Bollywood's most successful actors. From his "angry young man" phase to his powerful performances in his second innings, he has always impressed people. However, there was a period in his professional life when he felt no one would offer him films. Therefore, he decided to become a film producer. Author Hanif Zaveri discusses this.

Hanif Zaveri tells Vicky Lalwani, "Amitabh Bachchan felt he was being dropped from many films. He wasn't sure if he would get work in the future. Therefore, he wanted to become a producer."

When asked if this fear was true, Hanif said, "He was dropped from several films like 'Duniya Ka Mela'." He explained that some filmmakers signed films with Big B, but those films never came to fruition because Amitabh Bachchan's initial films were flops.

Hanif said, "Amitabh Bachchan felt that he should open a banner as a producer." He further explained that Big B decided to ensure that he could work on his home productions if he didn't get work.

When director Hrishikesh Mukherjee learned of Amitabh Bachchan's decision, he told him that even if he became a producer, no one would give him films anyway.

Hanif said, "In those days, an actor who became a producer wouldn't get any more films; take Dev Anand or Manoj Kumar, for example." Thus, Amitabh Bachchan decided to produce films, but did not include his name in the credits. He used his and Jaya's names to create the banner, but credited Susheela Kamath and Pawan Kumar. Susheela Kamath was Jaya Bachchan's secretary, and Pawan Kumar was close to Amitabh Bachchan.