Amitabh Bachchan is a legend and one of the biggest superstars the country has ever seen. While his stardom is unprecedented, the actor also had a dull phase in his career where he realised how fading stardom was. By the mid-1990s, the superstar who had once ruled the box office chose to step away from films. The magic wasn’t quite working anymore. His trademark “angry young man” persona had lost its sheen, and an uneasy foray into politics only deepened the career lull.Around the same time, a new force had taken over Bollywood — Govinda. With his effortless humour, impeccable timing, expressive energy, and electrifying dance moves, he redefined mainstream entertainment through the 1990s. His dominance was such that when Amitabh Bachchan attempted a comeback, it felt only natural that he shared the screen with this new-age phenomenon in David Dhawan’s ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ (1998).
In a 2016 conversation with Rajeev Masand, Bachchan reflected on this shift and what he experienced. He had said, “The whole equation changes. The crowd is not as attracted to you. People don’t look at you the same way they used to. You could enter a restaurant and cause mayhem. And then you can enter again and nobody looks at you. So, you go through that phase.”He contrasted his experiences across decades with striking clarity and said, “I went to promote a film in New York during the time of Laawaris and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. I mean, not to promote, I just went to do a show. And it was madness. You couldn’t get out. Even when you’re on stage, I couldn’t get off the stage because it was just crazy. They had to get the limousine on stage, and there’s a lift that goes underground, and you get out onto the street. That’s how you had to escape.”Years later, the same man found himself in a different world. “We got off this great big limousine into the theatre, and nobody looked at you. You’re just walking in like the rest of the audience. So, you realise the difference,” he said. Bachchan has often recalled moments that underscored Govinda’s soaring popularity. He once told Movie Magazine, “I was shooting with Govinda for Hum when a group of young kids came up to me and one of the boys asked for an autograph. Govinda was standing next to me. There was a young, cute girl who gave him a slap and said ‘Woh nahin, yeh. Govinda ka autograph lo (Not him. Take Govinda’s autograph).’”
