- विज्ञापन -
Mumbai, July 20: Chandra Barot, director of Amitabh Bachchan’s 1978 film Don, has passed away today. Chandra Barot was ill for a long time. He had a disease called pulmonary fibrosis. The director breathed his last at the age of 86.
Chandra Barot’s wife Deepa Barot confirmed the filmmaker’s death while talking to Times of India. According to her, Chandra Barot was suffering from a serious disease like pulmonary fibrosis for the last seven years. He was being treated by Dr. Manish Shetty of Gurunanak Hospital. Earlier also, he was also admitted to Jaslok Hospital when his condition worsened.
Let us tell you that Chandra Barot started his career as an assistant director in 1970. He was the assistant director of the film Purba Aur Paschim directed by Manoj Kumar in 1970. Apart from this, he has also assisted Manoj Kumar in films like Roti Kapda Aur Makaan and Shor.
In 1976, Chandra Barot started the second innings of his career as a director with the film Don. Amitabh Bachchan was in a double role in the film, while Zeenat Aman, Pran, Om Puri were also in important roles. The writer duo of Salim-Javed had written it. This film was a huge hit, which got cult status. It was the highest grossing film of 1978, which made Chandra Barot’s name one of the big directors of that era.
The film Don was made to pay off the debt
The story of the making of this 1978 cult film is very interesting. Actually, producer and cinematographer Nariman Irani’s 1972 film Zindagi Zindagi was a big flop. After the film, he got into a debt of 12 lakhs, due to which he was not able to pay the money of the people associated with the film.
At that time he was the cinematographer of Manoj Kumar’s directorial film Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. When this news spread on the sets of the film, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran Saheb and assistant director Chandra Barot, who were working in the film, suggested him to make another film to overcome this debt. Those who suggested worked in that film. Everyone talked to Salim Javed for the script. At that time, after Salim-Javed, there was an untitled script, which had been rejected by many producers. He gave the same script to Nariman Irani. Chandra Barot himself made some changes in the script and directed it. Amitabh Bachchan agreed to play the lead role in the film for Nariman Irani. Similarly, Zeenat Aman and Pran Saheb also joined the film.
The film took 3 and a half years to be made. Before the shooting could be completed, producer Nariman Irani died on the set of another film when a wall collapsed on him. After the producer’s death, people associated with the film collected funds to take the film forward.
Somehow the film was completed. The film was released on 12 May 1978. The film flopped in the first week. The theatres were empty.
When director Chandra Barot showed this film to his mentor Manoj Kumar, he found that it lacked a song. On his advice, the song Khaike Paan Banaras Wala was added to the film. This song was liked so much that people started talking about it. The word of mouth publicity was so amazing that in the second week, a huge crowd started gathering to watch the film. The film became a blockbuster within a few weeks. This film, made in 70 lakhs, earned 7 crores. The earnings from the film were given to Nariman Irani’s widow, with which she paid off her husband’s entire debt.
Chandra Barot directed the Bengali film Ashrita 11 years after Don. Apart from this, he was also making three Hindi films, but due to budget, all three films could never be completed.
