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Razia Sultan: Most Expensive Bollywood Flop in History
Razia Sultan (1983) was a grand period drama directed by Kamal Amrohi, meant to be a monumental success in Bollywood.
In the 1970s and 80s, Hindi cinema went through a big change. Amitabh Bachchan's 'Angry Young Man' persona made films more dramatic and larger than life. Even social dramas and historical epics started to feel bigger. Seeing this shift, filmmaker Kamal Amrohi decided to create his own epic.
He set out to make Razia Sultan, a grand period drama he hoped would be a major hit. The film had huge expectations surrounding it. But despite its ambitious vision, 'Razia Sultan' became one of Bollywood's biggest flops.
The film Razia Sultan was a biographical drama about India’s only female Muslim ruler, Razia Sultan. With a star-studded cast, including Hema Malini as Razia, Dharmendra, Parveen Babi, Sohrab Modi, and Ajit, it had all the ingredients of a successful film.
It was made on a massive budget of ₹10 crore, which made it the most expensive Indian film at the time. However, despite the high expectations, the film failed to connect with audiences. It earned only ₹2 crore at the box office, resulting in a huge loss.
This failure marked a significant setback not only for filmmaker Kamal Amrohi but also for the industry as a whole.
The film failed for a few reasons. The Urdu used in the film was hard for many people to understand. It was also too long, which bored some viewers.
Dharmendra played a character named Yakut, an Abyssinian warrior, but he used blackface, which caused a lot of controversy. The film also showed Razia and her aide, Khakun (played by Parveen Babi), in a romantic relationship.
They shared a love song, which ended with a kiss on the cheek.
This kiss was promoted as a same-sex kiss, which upset many people.
Audiences didn't like it, and some Muslim leaders criticized how the film showed Muslim women.
The financial impact of Razia Sultan was devastating. The film cost 60% more to make than Sholay, which was already one of the most expensive films of its time.
Kamal Amrohi had borrowed money from others in the industry and even withheld payments from crew members, promising to settle their dues after the film’s release. But when Razia Sultan flopped, it caused an 80% loss.
This financial disaster rippled through Bollywood, with many businesses facing cash shortages and falling into debt. While Amrohi personally paid out of pocket to settle his crew’s dues, distributors and exhibitors were left to bear the brunt of the losses.
Despite this setback, Amrohi tried to move on. He began work on a new film, Majnoon, starring Rajesh Khanna, but the financial collapse caused by 'Razia Sultan' led to that project being shelved.
He also started writing a script about Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, titled Aakhiri Mughal, but he never managed to finish it. Kamal Amrohi passed away in 1993, and Razia Sultan remained his final film.
It marked a tragic end to what had once been his dream project, leaving a lasting impact on both his career and the film industry as a whole.
