In today’s weekend blog, I am again on Bollywood.
Many faces come and go in Bollywood. Some are hit and some are flops. Usually, flop actors disappear but some flop actors did not give up and tried their luck in the directional field. Here are some flop actors who became successful directors.
1 Arbaaz Khan– After he failed to impress the audience as an actor he tried his hand in directing the film. Do you know that Dabang 2 is directed by him. The film was a huge box office hit. He has not stopped acting in films but he is more into direction.
2 Jugal Hansraj– He was a very famous child artist, in spite of all good looks he failed as an actor. He later tried his luck in film making and direction. He directed Roadside Romeo.
3 Pooja Bhatt– Mahesh Bhatt is father of two talented daughters. Alia Bhatt, who is famous Bollywood star, and on the other side his daughter Pooja Bhatt is a successful director. She directed films like Paap, Holiday, Jism 2 and Cabaret. Before trying hands in direction she started as actress in Bollywood and gave hits like Sadak and Dil Hai Kin Manta Nahin, but her fame as an actor did not last long.
4 Ashutosh Gowarikar– He started his career as actor in TV serials and films, but as an actor he could never succeed, and later turned to direction. His most famous films as director are Lagaan , and Jodha Akbar.
5 Subhash Ghai– He is one of the most successful director in Bollywood who is known for films like Karz, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak, Pardes, Taal and many more. Very few people know that before turning director with Kalicharan he was an actor, who acted in films like Taqdeer, Aradhana, Umang in side roles.
6 Abhishek Kapoor– He made his Bollywood debut as an actor in Uff, Yeh Mohabbat opposite Twinkle Khanna in 1996, which was a big flop. Later he turned director and gave films like Rock On , Fitoor.
7 Rakesh Roshan– He started his career in early 1970s opposite Hema Malini in Payara Dhan as an lead actor, and for many years he did acting but he could not achieve much success as an actor. He then turned producer, and after producing few films he turned director with Khudgarz. His other famous films as director are Kishan Kanhiya, Karan Arjun, Khoon Bhari Maang, Kaho Na Pyar Hai and Krish series.
Now here are few notable successful actors, who tried their hand in directing films but could not achieve much success.
1 Deepak Tijori– He started acting in late 1980s, he started as a lead actor bur later became dependable supporting actor. He later tried his hand in direction, but his directorial venture ‘Oops’ flopped miserably.
2 Rishi Kapoor– His father Raj Kapoor was a great actor who turned to direction and known as Showman of The Indian Cinema. Rishi, being his son, had acted as leading man for more than 2 decades. Later when Rishi stopped getting role of leading man, he turned to direction with “ Aa Ab Laut Chalen”, but the film did not performed well at box office. In later part of his career he switched to character roles.
3 Hema Malini– She is one of the greatest film actresses in the Bollywood industry. But before she tried her luck in Indian politics, she chose to sit on the director’s chair as well, and directed “ Dil Aashna Hai” starring Dimple Kapadia, Shah Rukh Khan, Jeetendra and other named stars, but film flopped.
4 Pankaj Kapoor– He is an established actor in TV and Bollywood. He directed his most ambitious project “Mausam” starring his son Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles. The film took years to wrap, and failed miserably at the box office.
5 Anupam Kher– He had established himself as an excellent character actor before turning to direction with “Om Jai Jagadish”. Originally film was to be made under Yashraj banner with three Khans, but it did not materialized. Later the film was produced Vasu Bhagnani with Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and Fardeen Khan. The film flopped, and Anupam never directed any film again.
6 Shashi Kapoor– He started his career as an actor in early 1960s, and later turned producer. He also followed the family tradition and became director with Ajooba, which was a fantasy film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, but the film tanked at the box office.
Some other successful actors who tried their hands at direction in recent times are Sunny Deol, and Ajay Devgan, and the films directed by them did average at the box office. Earlier even Shammi Kapoor tried his hand in direction, after he stopped acting as leading man, the two films directed by him did an average business.
In the Bollywood there are many actors who later became director and did very well in both the fields, and they are Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Dev Anand, Manoj Kumar, Suni Dutt, and Feroze Khan.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
15th March 2024