Amitabh Bachchan’s Don Director Chandra Barot Passes Away | Chandra Barot, director of Amitabh Bachchan’s don, died: Pulmonary was struggling with fibrosis, Don was made to repay the debt of a friend, who became a Cult

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 death of the filmmaker in a conversation with the Times of India. According to him, Chandra Barot was battling a serious disease like pulmonary fibrosis for the past seven years. He was being treated by Manish Shetty, a doctor at Guru Nanak Hospital. Even before this, he was admitted to the Jaslok Hospital when the condition deteriorated.

Let us tell you that Chandra Barot started his career in 1970 as an assistant director. He was the film East and Assistant Director of the film, directed by Manoj Kumar in 1970. Apart from this, he has also assisted Manoj Kumar in films like Roti Clot and House and Shor.

In 1976, Chandra Barot started the second innings of his career as a director from the film Don. Amitabh Bachchan was in double role in the film, while Zeenat Aman, Pran, Om Puri were also in important roles. It was written by Salim-Javed’s writer pair. The film was a tremendous hit, which got the status of the Cult. It was the highest grossing film of 1978, which Chandra Barot was named among the big directors of that era.

The film Don was made to repay the debt

The story of the 1978 Cult film is very funny. Actually, producer and cinematographer Nariman Irani was a big flop of 1972 film Zindagi Zindagi. After the film, he was buried in debt of 12 lakhs, due to which he was unable to pay the money of the people associated with the film.

Picture of Chandra Barot and Amitabh Bachchan taken during the shooting of Don.

At that time, he was the cinematographer of Manoj Kumar’s film Roti Tapa and House. When this thing spread on the set of the film, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran Saheb and Assistant Director Chandra Barot, who were working in the film, suggested him to make a second film to overcome this debt. Those who gave suggestions worked in that film. Everyone spoke to Salim Javed for the script. At that time, Salim-Javed was followed by an untital script, which many producers had rejected. He gave the same script to Nariman Irani. Chandra Barot himself made some changes to the script and directed it. At the same time, 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 make it. Producer Nariman Irani died of a wall collapse on the set of another film before the shooting was completed. People associated with the film collected funds to pursue the film from the death of the producer.

As soon as the film was ready. The film was released on 12 May 1978. The film flopped the first week. The theater was empty.

When director Chandra Barot showed this film to his mentor Manoj Kumar, he felt lacking in it. On his advice, the song Khaike Pan Banaras was put in the film. This song was so liked that people started discussing it. Mouth Publicity became amazing that a huge crowd began to throng to watch the film for the second week. Within a few weeks, the film got a blockbuster. Made in 70 lakhs, the film earned Rs 7 crore. The film’s earnings were given to Nariman Irani’s widowed wife, which paid the entire debt of the husband.

Chandra Barot directed the Bengali film Ashrita after 11 years after Dawn. Apart from this, he was also making three Hindi films, but due to the budget, all three films could never be completed.

In 2014, Amitabh Bachchan shared the picture with Chandra Barot.