When Chandra Barot recalled Amitabh Bachchan's Don being declared a flop and how Manoj Kumar's advice saved the film

Indian Express

a day ago

Filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for directing Amitabh Bachchan's cult classic Don, passed away on Sunday at the age of 86 following a prolonged battle with pulmonary fibrosis. While Don eventually went on to become a landmark film for both him and Big B, it wasn't an easy project to complete and release.
In an old interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf, Chandra Barot had revealed that Don faced severe financial troubles and was even declared a flop on the day of its release. He shared that the film's producer, Nariman Irani, passed away six months before its release, leaving the team without any money for promotions. This put the movie at a disadvantage as it was competing with major releases like Yash Chopra's Trishul and Shashi Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Adding to the challenge was the fact that Chandra was a debutant director.
He said, 'Don was to hit screens on May 12, 1978. Two weeks before that date, Yash Chopra's Trishul was released and became a big hit. We had no money to promote Don because the producer Nariman Irani died six months before the release. There were other films out at around the same time — including Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Prakash Mehra's Muqaddar Ka Sikandar — and I, as a debutant director, was a dwarf compared to them.'
Chandra Barot also admitted that the pressure was high since Don was the only solo Amitabh Bachchan-starrer at the time, as his other films were all multi-starrers. He said, 'Moreover, Don was the only Amitabh film with him as the lead; his other projects were all multi-starrers. So, I was obviously nervous.'
Chandra Barot revealed that the film was made on a modest budget of Rs 25 lakh. After the producer's death, they had to wrap the film on a constrained budget and couldn't afford any promotions. This lack of publicity meant there was barely any footfall on the first day. He explained, 'Don was shot with a budget of around Rs 25 lakh. After Nariman Irani's death, we somehow managed to wrap the film without any money for promotion.'
However, luck was on their side. The song 'Khaike Paan Banaraswala' struck a chord with audiences and pulled them into theatres. The film's turnaround was driven entirely by word-of-mouth. 'It was a big disappointment and declared a flop because not many people turned up. Luckily for me, within a week, the song Khaike Paan Banaraswala became a big hit. Word of mouth publicity led to the film becoming a big hit from the second week on. It ran for 50 weeks in all centres and for 75 weeks in Hyderabad,' he said.
Chandra Barot credited the film's music director Babla and actor Manoj Kumar for the film's success. The latter had advised him to add a song to provide relief from the fast-paced narrative. 'I must also thank Manoj Kumar, who told me a song was needed. When he saw it, he said the film was too tight. He said it made taking a toilet break difficult, because the story was so gripping! So, we included that song,' he said.
In the end, Don's team ensured that the film's success helped deceased Nariman Irani's family. Sharing how they helped pay back the debts of the late producer, Chandra said, 'When it became a big hit, we gave the money to Salma Irani, the producer's widow, to settle her husband's debts.'