While Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar struggled to survive in Mumbai during their initial days, Amitabh Bachchan lost his wealth to a failed venture.
Success in Bollywood does not come easy. Behind the stardom, praise and lavish lifestyle that the stars lead, there is a lot that goes to keep up with the industry and many have encountered a financial crunch in the initial days of their career.
Our favourites like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar have seen immense financial struggle to reach where they are.
While Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay struggled to survive in Mumbai during their initial days, Amitabh Bachchan lost his wealth to a failed venture. Here’s a look at Bollywood stars who have spoken about their struggles in the past.
1. Shah Rukh Khan
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Everyone knows this, Shah Rukh Khan had landed in Mumbai from Delhi to become a Bollywood star and he did it, but it wasn't easy. He arrived in Mumbai with three of his friends and no money, they didn't even have enough moolah to rent accommodation. Remembering his days of financial struggle, as per a TOI report, Shah Rukh had earlier shared, "When I first landed in Mumbai from Delhi, I had tagged along with 3 other friends. We had no money to even buy food. We used to sleep on the sidewalk outside the Oberoi Hotel (now Trident) on the Queen's Necklace. In the mornings we used to clean up in the hotel's washrooms and pretend to be the hotel's guests. When we had no money to go back to Delhi, I went to the local market and sold my Pentax camera for 1500 rupees, so we could buy our tickets back to Delhi."
2. Akshay Kumar
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Born in a Punjabi family, when he was in college, Akshay Kumar decided to go to Bangkok and pursue his passion for martial arts. When he returned to India, he first worked as a peon in Calcutta and later, moved to Dhaka for a salesman's position. Later, he managed to get a job as a martial arts teacher in Mumbai before he got a chance in Bollywood. As per a Times of India report, in an earlier interview Akshay had shared, “I had learnt martial arts so that held me in good stead during my tough time in Bangkok. Since I was a martial-arts enthusiast I picked up on Muay Thai boxing and I used to participate in street fights to earn some extra cash. On many occasions, I got beaten up badly, but it was an honest and much-needed earning.”
3. Amitabh Bachchan
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Amitabh Bachchan, who had seen great success and was immensely loved by his fans came under debt after his event management and production company 'Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL)' incurred massive losses. He had to face 55 legal cases, mortgage his house and had a debt of about Rs 90 crore. "In the year 2000, when the entire world was celebrating the new century, I was celebrating my disastrous fortune. There were no films, no money, no company, a million legal cases against and the tax authorities had put notice of recovery on my home,” Big B had shared on his blog. His son Abhishek Bachchan too recently opened up about the period when Big B was in great debt.
4. Rajkummar Rao
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Rajkummar Rao, who has had a successful run at the box office and even won a National Award, found it difficult surviving in Mumbai. Speaking about the struggles he faced, the actor had told a new agency, "The initial two years when I was looking for work, it was extremely tough. There were days when there was no money to buy food. But my mother gave me that confidence and had this unshakable trust in me. I would call back home and they would send me money so that I could have food on my table."
5. Govinda
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Govinda has had a successful run in the film industry. He gave many hits but after a point he was left with no offers on the table. It was only after 3-4 years of no work that he found himself in debt. However, Salman Khan helped him revive his career by offering him his comeback film, ‘Partner’ that helped him financially.
