Amitabh Bachchan Called Himself FLOP Actor Amid Failures, Javed Akhtar Praises Big B For Shining Even In Bad Scripts: ‘He Is Volcano Who…’

Amitabh Bachchan wasn’t always the superstar we know today. In the early days of his career, he delivered 11 flops in a row and had no work. But everything changed when writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar chose him for Zanjeer. That film transformed his life and gave rise to Bollywood’s iconic “Angry Young Man”.

Javed Akhtar On Career Struggles Of Amitabh Bachchan

In an interview with Hook Global, Javed Akhtar revealed how few people respected Amitabh’s talent back then. He said, “Most of the time, we don’t respect the talent.” Despite the failure of multiple films, Akhtar said, “We saw him in a film that didn’t do well, but we could see that he is a volcano, waiting to erupt.”

Akhtar also recalled offering Zanjeer to Amitabh Bachchan when he had no job. He revealed, “I called him… he summoned me immediately, because he was sitting around jobless.” After hearing the script, Amitabh asked, “Do you think I can pull this role off?” Akhtar replied, “Nobody in this country can play it better than you.”

Jaya Bachchan Always Believed In Him

Even when the industry wrote him off, Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) stood by him. In Khalid Mohamed’s book To Be Or Not To B: Amitabh Bachchan, she said, “I never took his flops seriously; I was convinced that they were a passing phase. He was learning and improving… At times he would retort sharply, ‘Naturally no one wants me since I’m a flop actor.’”

Her faith remained strong, and soon after Zanjeer, success followed with films like Deewaar and Sholay. Though Salim-Javed later parted ways, Amitabh’s stardom only soared.

Amitabh Bachchan: Current Work Front

At 82, Amitabh Bachchan continues to stay active in films. He was last seen in Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD alongside Prabhas and Deepika Padukone. He also appeared with Rajinikanth in Vettaiyan. Now, he’s working on the sequel to Kalki and has reportedly lent his voice to Jatayu in Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi as leads.