Amitabh Bachchan's blockbuster movie Shahenshah was almost shelved because of these BTS struggles; Tinnu Anand reveals
Shahenshah is a cinematic landmark, famously featuring Amitabh Bachchan. But the film was almost shelved due to numerous problems; read below
Tinnu Anand's Shahenshah (1988), starring the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, captured the hearts of Bollywood fans and left an indelible mark on Indian cinema. This iconic film solidified Bachchan's status as the ‘Shahenshah of Bollywood’; a lesser-known fact is the series of unfortunate events that took place during its production that nearly derailed the project.
The death of Inder Raj Anand
The film is fondly remembered for its iconic dialogues and gripping storyline but what many may not realise is that late writer, Inder Raj Anand was on his deathbed when he penned the climactic scenes of the film. Director Tinnu recounted a poignant moment with his father Inder saying, “He (Inder) saw the worried look on my face. He called me to his side, oxygen mask on, and said, ‘don’t worry son, I will not ditch you. I won’t let people say that a father has left his son down by not finishing his climax’. You won’t believe it, on the last day, just before he breathed his last, he sat down with my assistant in the hospital and he put a full stop to the climax.”
Amitabh's life-threatening health crisis
As if the weight of that loss wasn’t enough, the project faced another cosmic setback when Amitabh Bachchan encountered a life-threatening health crisis. While filming Coolie (1983), the superstar sustained a severe abdominal injury during a fight scene with co-star Puneet Issar. This incident led to the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune disorder that causes significant muscle weakness.
Days before Shahenshah was set to go into production, Tinnu received a call and was advised to come to Bengaluru, where the actor was hospitalised. “I was told by the Manmohan Desai unit that he has gotten injured and was taken to Bengaluru for checkup. ‘He has asked you to come to Bengaluru,’ they told me, so I went there. This time, I was on tenterhooks: Is he going to be well for my schedule?,” said Tinnu in an interview with Radio Nasha.
With apprehension, Tinnu arrived at the hospital, only to be met with devastating news. “I kept waiting at the hotel, where he arrived and said, ‘Please sit down, I have a bad news for you. I have been diagnosed with a nerve illness. During the shoot when I was taking a sip of the water, it got stuck in my throat, because the message to my brain didn’t go that I had to swallow it.’ He then said, ‘I nearly died suffocating on it.’”
A desperate search for a new leading man
In desperation, Tinnu began exploring alternative casting options for his leading man, considering actors like Jackie Shroff and Jeetendra. “We had to make Shahenshah, and it took us a year. Jackie was the first to agree. He enjoyed the attention he was receiving about possibly replacing Amitabh Bachchan in Shahenshah. He signed three or four more films because of that buzz. Jeetendra, on the other hand, said, ‘I don’t think I can fit into Amitabh’s shoes’,” said the director. The search for a replacement became increasingly difficult as Tinnu realised that no one could fill the role quite like Amitabh and the project was shelved.
Tinnu experiences a financial crisis
The prospect that Amitabh might never act again crushed Tinnu in more ways than one since the director had invested heavily in the film’s pre-production. As rumours began swirling that Amitabh would be retiring from acting altogether, it left Tinnu in a precarious financial position. “The announcement came on Monday or Sunday, that Amitabh Bachchan will not work in films anymore. And I had spent a lot of money for an outdoor schedule. I had creditors coming to my house now,” said the director. “I experienced one year of poverty,” he revealed.
With creditors knocking on his door and the future of Shahenshah hanging in the balance, he resorted to making corporate films to stay afloat. “But slowly, slowly, Amitabh came back," he continued. “His brother told me, ‘Tinnu, don’t worry, I know about your condition. But if da (brother) comes back, he’ll finish his unfinished two films, and after that, if he’s still in a condition to work, yours is the first film we’ll take’. So, there was some ray of hope given by Bunty, his brother.”
Finally, after a year of turmoil, Shahenshah went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of 1988.
