How Mohabbatein Became Amitabh Bachchan’s Comeback Film

By  the year 2,000 Amitabh Bachchan’s career had come to  a deadend  of sorts. His  last crop of films in the 1990s  as a leading man , like Lal Badshah, Sooryavansham, Major Saab,  Kohram   and   Mrityudata  had flopped.

And  he didn’t know  which way to  go. What he had  on his side  was selfhonesty.

“I knew  I had to  start from  the beginning again. My days as  the  conventional hero  were  over. I had two choices. I could either  retire.  Or I could re-invent  myself,” Mr Bachchan recalled  in an interview with me.

This is  where  Yash Chopra came in. Bachchan Saab had heard  that Yash Raj Films was  planning a  big  film called Mohabbatein where  there  was  a role tailormade  for Mr Bachchan.

“One morning I  woke up  and walked over  from my home to Yashji’s bungalow. I told  him I needed  a  role since I  was  jobless. He was gracious  enough to immediately offer me  a role in Mohabbatein,” said Mr  Bachchan.

 Mohabbatein started  the new  phase  in Mr Bachchan’s career as a patriarch. The chalk-black hair was abandoned  for grey hair and a beard.

To this day Bachchan Saab  credits his current innings as  India’s  oldest  superstar(my description,  not his) to Yash Chopra.

“It was a wonderful experience ,really.  At that  age,time and moment of my career  I was  fortunate to have the opportunity to work in a set-up like this. I really can’t be too concerned about the length of my role, and so on,” Mr B exulted  to me after the  film’s  success.