Amitabh Bachchan worked for free in his career best film, movie released in 1978, was declared flop in first week, then became superhit, made for Rs 70 lakh, it earned Rs..

For the past few years, film budgets have been going out of hand, with Pushpa 2, Baahubali, RRR, Adipurush, and Kalki 2898 AD costing hundreds of crores to make and then release in theatres. In a world where it has become a norm to spend Rs 300-400 crore to make a film, it is hard to imagine a movie made on a meager budget of just Rs 70 lakh and still emerging as an all-time blockbuster. Today, we will tell you about one of Amitabh Bachchan's most iconic films, which was released in 1978 and created such a legacy that it continues to this day. We are talking about the film Don, a Bollywood classic that almost didn’t get made but then went on to create history at the box office. 

Directed by Chandra Barot from a story written by Salim–Javed and produced by Nariman Irani, Don starred Amitabh Bachchan in a dual role, alongside Zeenat Aman, Pran, Iftekhar, Om Shivpuri, and Satyen Kappu. Many are unaware that Don was released without any promotions in May 1978 and was declared a flop in its first week. 

After a week of the film's release, the superhit chartbuster Khaike Paan Banaraswala was added to the film. The song became such a hit that by the second week, Don's box office fortunes changed. The film, relying on word of mouth, was declared a blockbuster, earning astronomical profits. 

Don took three and a half years to complete. The producer of the film, Nariman Irani, was in huge debt before he decided to make Don, but sadly, he could not live long enough to enjoy its success. Nariman Irani tragically died from an accident on the set of another film he was working on. However, the silver lining in all of this was that after Don became a superhit, its profits were given to his widow so that she could settle her husband's debts.

Interestingly, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, and director Chandra Barot worked on Don for free to help out Nariman Irani, and this risk paid off in spades. Don not only helped define Amitabh Bachchan's superstardom but also turned him into a phenomenon. 

Don was the third highest-grossing Indian film of 1978 and was classified a Golden Jubilee by Box Office India. Made on a budget of just Rs 70 lakh, it earned approximately Rs 7.2 crore, a mammoth amount at the time. If adjusted for inflation, this amount would be over Rs 250 crore today.