Abhishek Bachchan opened up recently about the time when he quit his college as Amitabh Bachchan faced financial difficulties and was ridden with debts. The superstar’s company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited went bankrupt as he was left with a debt of Rs 90 crore to pay others. At the same time, his films were not working as well.
In an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia on YouTube, Abhishek said, “Well, truth be told, I left university — I was studying in Boston University. I had declared my major as liberal arts, and then I majored in performing arts. And I left my education because my father was going through this really rough time, financially. He had started this business called ABCL.”
Abhishek felt that he couldn’t be sitting in Boston when his father dealt with such a severe condition where he didn’t know how he’s going to arrange for dinner. “He had to borrow money from his staff to put food on the table. I just felt morally obliged to be with him. I called him and I said ‘You know dad, I think I want to leave college half-way and comeback and just be with you, try and help you in whatever way. At least you’ll know that your boy is next to you and he’s there for you’,” he said.
Amitabh called the phase as ‘one of the darkest periods’ of his 44-year-old career in an interview with India Today. “I can never forget how creditors used to land at our door, be abusive, threatening and demanding, and worse still, when they came for ‘Kudkee’ at Prateeksha, our residence,” he said.
Recently, at Vettaiyan audio launch event, superstar Rajinikanth recounted how Amitabh dealt with the struggling phase and had to sell his properties in Mumbai. “He did anything and everything. He did all kinds of ads. People in the Bombay industry laughed when they saw this. For three years, despite having many health issues, he worked for 18 hours a day and cleared all his dues. Not just that; he bought back the old house; he bought a total of three houses in that same lane. That’s Amitabh Bachchan! He is 82 now and still works for 10 hours a day,” he said.