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Amitabh Bachchan’s bankruptcy once led to crew strikes on ‘Major Saab’ sets, director makes revelations
Amitabh Bachchan’s production house ABCL faced bankruptcy during the making of Ajay Devgn’s Major Saab, leading to unpaid crew members and strikes on set, reveals director Tinnu Anand.
Veteran filmmaker Tinnu Anand has opened up about the tough times he faced while directing the 1998 film Major Saab, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn. The director revealed that due to financial struggles faced by Amitabh Bachchan’s production house, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL), the crew members on the sets often went unpaid and even went on strike.
Crew faced payment issues on the sets of Major Saab
In a recent interview, Tinnu Anand recalled how the film was shot under extremely difficult circumstances. He said, “When Amitabh Bachchan went corporate, he became bankrupt as per Times of India. Unfortunately, I was making my film for him at the time, Major Saab. We worked in such dire circumstances, only I know. The producer had no money and he had kept the entire unit in one hotel. Just imagine what circumstances it would have been. Every second day the crew would go on strike because they weren’t paid, they were threatening to not work, to not show up.”
According to the director, the non-payment of salaries created a tense atmosphere on the sets. Anand admitted that the situation was so stressful that it made him decide to never direct again. “That’s why I decided that I’ll never direct after Major Saab. Because the pain with which I have gone through, no one can know. I was insulted by the unit, I could have slapped them, but it wasn’t my production, and I feared they would strike again. So I had to be careful and control my temper,” he said.
Why did Amitabh Bachchan’s ABCL face bankruptcy?
Amitabh Bachchan launched his company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) in the 1990s. The company was involved in producing films and managing events. Some of the films under ABCL included Major Saab and Tere Mere Sapne. However, due to poor management and the company taking up multiple projects at the same time, ABCL faced huge financial losses.
Here’s what Amitabh Bachchan said about this difficult phase. In an earlier interview with Vir Sanghvi, the superstar revealed, “All assets, all properties were attached. So when you sign a personal guarantee, then you are personally liable to pay that and so there were about Rs 90 crore to be paid back.” He further added, “There were about 55 legal cases and there were creditors on the door every day. Very embarrassing, very humiliating.”
Despite going through bankruptcy and legal troubles, Amitabh Bachchan made a strong comeback in films and later with television, becoming one of the biggest stars in the country once again.
