The 100th birth anniversary of Shakti Samanta, one of India’s finest filmmakers, was celebrated on January 13. On this memorable occasion, Shakti Samanta’s talented son, Ashim Samanta, spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about his legendary father and some of his famous works. In the previous article, we informed readers how Shakti Samanta shot Indian cinema’s first-ever bi-lingual, Amanush (1975), in the Sunderbans, despite the challenges. In this part, we’ll focus on the film’s unprecedented box office success.
Ashim Samanta began by saying, “The success of Amanush is another story. It was a huge hit across India from North to South, East to West. If I talk about Return on Investment, Amanush and Anuraag (1973) were our biggest hits. They were bigger than Aradhana (1969), Kati Patang (1971) and Amar Prem (1972).”
Ashim explained, “The film was made in Rs. 30 lakhs. It was a super-hit everywhere and the Bengali’s version itself collected around Rs. 1.20 crore! In today’s times, it amounts to Rs. 70 crores. To date, no film in Bengal has collected more than Rs. 45 crores! Amanush was released 50 years ago and even today, the record stays (smiles). You can say, this was a bigger hit than Dhurandhar!”
Amanush starred Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar in the lead role. Ashim explained how he came on board, “In 1971, police officers from Kolkata, accompanied by Mumbai cops, came to meet Dad. They told him, ‘The lives of you, Uttam Kumar and Hemant Kumar are in danger due to the Naxalites’. They wanted to kill these three famous Bengali artists, so that they get huge publicity across the country. Hence, 24-hour police protection was given to them. Uttam Kumar was asked to leave Calcutta, as they said that it won’t be possible to give him protection in that city. So, he came to Mumbai for a few months. This is when Dad and he met once a week and got close. They would have dinner and drinks together. During one such meeting, Uttam Kumar regretfully said that ‘I got only one chance to work in a Hindi film (Chhoti Si Mulaqat; 1967). But it bombed. Do you think I can get another chance?’. Dad replied, ‘You are a fantastic actor and a good-looking man. I’ll give you that chance’. Dad’s only condition was that it would be shot in Hindi as well as Bengali.”
The post 100 Years of Shakti Samanta EXCLUSIVE: “Bigger hit than Dhurandhar” – Ashim Samanta reveals Amanush was a ROI MONSTER: “Made in just Rs. 30 lakhs; collected Rs. 1.20 cr ONLY in Bengal. In today’s times, that’s Rs. 70 cr; to date, no film in Bengal has collected more than Rs. 45 cr!” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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