The day when Amitabh Bachchan became ‘Shahenshah’ and showed he is the baap of all

The name of megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been associated with many iconic films, during his career which is spans across more than four decades now. Among them, the 1988 release ‘Shahenshah’ is one such film that perfectly carried his onscreen image of the ‘angry young man’. Many would be aware that ‘Shahenshah’ was an important film for the megastar as it was his comeback after he took a break from acting and had briefly entered politics (in 1984). Today, indeed it is a special day as the film completes a glorious 30 years of its release.

Image Source - YouTube

The story of ‘Shahenshah’ was written by Amitabh’s wife and veteran actress Jaya Bachchan. The film was directed by Tinnu Anand, who had earlier worked with Big B in their film ‘Kaalia’ (1981). The film is still remembered for the iconic costume that Amitabh donned in this movie where the arm alone weighed 18 kilos. Big B had a muscular disease, but he still insisted on wearing the heavy costume in all the scenes it required especially all the fight scenes that were shot. (Also Read: Brahmastra: Did Amitabh Bachchan just give a look test for this film starring Ranbir-Alia?)

The megastar even tweeted about it writing, “T 2611 – 30 YEARS OF ‘SHAHENSHAH’ .. amazing times .. came at the time when there was little hope of its release .. because of attacks on my credibility .. but the people of the nation knew better .. had a bumper opening and success ! Thank you.”

T 2611 – 30 YEARS OF 'SHAHENSHAH' .. amazing times .. came at the time when there was little hope of its release .. because of attacks on my credibility .. but the people of the nation knew better .. had a bumper opening and success ! Thank you pic.twitter.com/wX4D1u5Rrk

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 11, 2018

Who can forget the iconic dialogue from the movie, “Rishte mein toh hum tumhare baap lagte hain, naam hai Shahenshah”; this line is something that will definitely live on for generations. The film initially faced some trouble as the release date  kept on getting postponed, due to the threat of boycott on the movie by some opposition political parties as these (parties) had had some conflict with Big B while he was a Congress MP.

Image Source - YouTube

But, ultimately the film released in February 1988. ‘Shahenshah’ carried every ingredient to make it a blockbuster and went on to become a huge one bringing back Big B’s star power on the big screen.

Today, Big B is referred as ‘Shahenshah’ of Indian Cinema, indeed a title which came in existence from one of his most memorable performances, one that was delivered in this film.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.