When Debt-Ridden Amitabh Bachchan Promised To Repay Every Penny: Aanjjan Srivastav Recalls Financial Crisis
Veteran actor Aanjjan Srivastav recalls how Amitabh Bachchan, amid a major financial crisis, promised to return every rupee he owed to the bank — and kept that promise. Read the full story.
Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, widely revered as the 'Shahenshah' of Bollywood, once went through a financially turbulent period during the late 1980s and 1990s. Now, decades later, actor and former banker Aanjjan Srivastav has shared a moving account of Bachchan’s integrity and humility during those trying times. In a recent interview with Friday Talkies, Srivastav recalled how the superstar vowed to repay every rupee he owed, and kept his word.
ABCL Troubles and the Bofors Aftermath
Amitabh’s professional low began in the late ’80s, coinciding with his brief political career, which ended amid the Bofors scandal in 1987. Around the same time, his business venture, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. (ABCL), began to struggle, pushing the actor into a severe financial crunch. According to Srivastav, who worked at the bank that had issued loans to ABCL, the crisis deepened when repayment demands intensified.
“The bank started saying that ask him to return our money. I took the manager with me and went to his shoot at Kamalistan Studios. He said (gestures folded hands), ‘Main aapke ek ek payi vapis kar dunga (I will return every penny I owe you)’. And he did. He is a man of his word,” Srivastav shared.
Jaya Bachchan Stepped In as Guarantor
The financial situation escalated to a point where the bank requested that Jaya Bachchan become a guarantor for her husband’s debt. Aanjjan Srivastav facilitated the process and revealed, “The head office said that they want Jaya’s guarantee and she also signed.”
In an earlier interaction with Rajshri Unplugged, Srivastav elaborated on how he discouraged the bank from filing legal action against Bachchan. He said, “We have not come for that. We have come because of your accountant’s mistake. You return the money when you can and we trust you that you will give and your intention is right. But in this kind of banking, don’t do transactions with other banks.”
'He Was Being Misled' – Aanjjan on ABCL's Internal Mismanagement
Reflecting on ABCL’s financial mismanagement, Srivastav expressed his belief that Amitabh was “trapped” and misled by people around him. “When ABCL account was there, he (Amitabh) was trapped in it. We used to go to his office from the bank to take statements and people were bluffing him badly,” he revealed.
Despite the setbacks, Amitabh Bachchan eventually managed to repay all his dues. His career saw a major resurgence in the early 2000s, particularly with his hosting stint on 'Kaun Banega Crorepati', which marked a turning point in his financial and professional life.
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