Taj Mahal.
Many Indian films have held the title of ‘most expensive films’ at different times. Unfortunately, many of these films did not do well at the box office. Some films like ‘Mother India’, ‘Sholay’ and ‘Devdas’ were big hits, while many others were big flops. Interestingly, the biggest flop is not ‘Adipurush’ or ‘Shaan’, it is another film that was so unsuccessful that its director decided to leave the film industry forever.
It became the biggest flop of that era
The 2005 film ‘Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story’ was the story of the romance between Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Directed by Akbar Khan, the film had a budget of Rs 50 crore, which was the most expensive Indian film at that time, surpassing ‘Devdas’ and ‘The Hero’. This mega budget was used to create lavish sets, elaborate battle scenes and manage a large cast, which included Kabir Bedi, Sonya Jehan, Manisha Koirala, Arbaaz Khan, Waqar Sheikh, Rahil Azam and Pooja Batra. The film was also released in Pakistan and had music by the legendary composer Naushad. He died soon after this film and this became the last work of his career.
The film earned a lot abroad
Taj Mahal did well in Pakistan and some international markets. It grossed over $2 million (Rs 10 crore) overseas. However, being an over-budget film, the collections proved to be negligible. In India, the film was a big flop and grossed only Rs 21 crore. The other releases of the same time, The Hero, grossed Rs 35 crore in India and Devdas grossed over Rs 50 crore. Taj Mahal, on the other hand, barely managed to recover its cost with a global gross of Rs 31 crore.
quit directing films
Akbar Khan, the younger brother of Feroz Khan and Sanjay Khan, started his career as an actor in the 70s and 80s and entered the world of direction with the 1983 film ‘Hadasa’. Later he directed episodes of two TV shows ‘Akbar the Great’ and ‘The Sword of Tipu Sultan’. The failure of ‘Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story’ also led to financial losses for him. It is said that he also tried to recoup the losses and in such a situation his financial condition worsened further. ‘Taj Mahal’ was his second film as a director and it was released 14 years after his first release. Unfortunately, due to the failure of the film, it became his last film. Akbar Khan retired from filmmaking and never directed another film or TV show.
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