India’s most expensive film, became box office flop, ended lead actress’s career, made in Rs 8 crore, earned Rs…, lead actor was…

We often witness small-budget films turning into massive box office hits, which inspires the makers to spend massive on its sequel. However the flip side of the industry is when makers spend in huge sums, but fail miserably. Films like Thugs of Hindostan, Adipurush, Zero are some of the major examples. Adding to the list is another biggest flop, that was made in a hefty budget, but failed to make an impact and led to heavy looses for the producers.

We are talking about India’s most expensive movie Ajooba, which was released in 1990s. Starring megastar Amitabh Bachchan, the superhero fantasy was produced and directed by Shashi Kapoor, with co-production by Soviet filmmaker Gennadi Vasilyev. Apart from Big B, the film starred an ensemble star cast including Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Sonam, Shammi Kapoor, Dara Singh, Saeed Jaffrey, and Amrish Puri in significant roles.

Made in Rs 8 crore, Ajooba was India’s most expensive film in 90s. After a series of consecutive flops, Amitabh Bachchan was expected to make a comeback with this adventurous action drama. However when released in April around Eid, it turned out to be a box office disaster. The film was criticsed for its directionless plot, but was appreciated for special visual effects and music.

Despite a star-studded cast and heavy visual effects, the film couldn’t attract audience during its theatrical run. The film earned only Rs 3.50 crore in India, even surpassing Prabhas’s Adipurush, which collected Rs 393 crore against the estimated budget of Rs 700 crore.

Interestingly, Ajooba was a success in Soviet Univon, marking the last collaboration between the Indian and Soviet Union industries. Russian actress Ariadna Shengelaya made her Bollywood debut with the Amitabh Bachchan starrer, but after its failure, she didn’t work in any Indian film again.

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