The director and producer always have a distinct vision behind every film. Even prominent actors and actresses agree to work on a film after carefully considering all aspects. Critics often declare films flops during their premieres. However, some films show their impact three or four days after their box office release. In a span of 18 years, four such films were initially considered flops but later became iconic, with meteoric box office collections that surprised everyone. These films were ‘Sholay’, ‘Deewar’, ‘Hero’, and ‘Baazigar’.

‘Deewar’ was released on January 24, 1975, and has been included in Hindi cinema’s list of 100 must-watch films. ‘Deewar’ was directed by Yash Chopra and produced by Gulshan Rai, with the story written by Salim-Javed. The film featured stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Bobby, Iftikhar, Madan Puri, Satyen Kappu, and Manmohan Krishna, with music composed by RD Burman.

After the success of 1973’s ‘Zanjeer,’ ‘Deewar’ catapulted Amitabh Bachchan’s stardom to new heights. Amitabh’s long shirt in the film later became a fashion trend. Interestingly, Amitabh Bachchan shot ‘Deewar‘ and ‘Sholay‘ simultaneously, filming ‘Sholay‘ during the day and ‘Deewar‘ at night. Most of ‘Deewar‘s scenes were shot in darkness or enclosed spaces. An anecdote is famous for the film’s premiere, which was declared a flop. Upon its release, ‘Deewar‘ made history, running for 100 weeks in theatres and grossing Rs 4.25 crore at the box office. It was ranked fourth on the list of the highest-grossing films of 1975.

In 1975, another Amitabh Bachchan movie, ‘Sholay,’ made history in Hindi cinema. Directed by Ramesh Sippy, with the story written by Salim-Javed, ‘Sholay‘ is considered one of the best films in Hindi cinema. Ramesh Sippy revealed in an interview that Hema Malini agreed to play Basanti only after hearing the role in detail. Danny was initially considered for the role of Gabbar, but he couldn’t commit to the dates. Amitabh Bachchan also liked the role of Gabbar. Dharmendra, upon hearing the script, had said that Gabbar was overshadowing everyone, and his prediction proved true.

Amjad Khan got the role of Gabbar Singh thanks to director Ramesh Sippy’s sister, who had starred in a play with him. Ramesh Sippy called Amjad Khan to his office, dressed him in Gabbar’s costume, took photographs, and then finalised him for the role. Amjad Khan immortalised this role forever.

Most interestingly, when ‘Sholay‘ was released on August 15, 1975, theatres received a lukewarm response for a week. Everyone thought the film would flop, but after seven days, the situation suddenly changed. Theatres were flooded with audiences. This timeless film, made on a budget of Rs 3 crore, collected Rs 50 crore worldwide. Every character, scene, and dialogue in the film was met with applause. ‘Sholay‘ also holds the world record for selling the most tickets in a single year.

Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri made their Bollywood debut in 1983 with the film ‘Hero,’ directed by Subhash Ghai. Both were newcomers. Initially, the film failed to attract audiences to theatres. However, later its publicity increased and it became a blockbuster at the box office. Jackie Shroff became a star overnight and later worked on several films with director Subhash Ghai. Made on a budget of Rs 16 crore, ‘Hero‘ grossed over Rs 46 crore worldwide.

This was Mukta Arts’ first film. Subhash Ghai stated in an interview, “The muhurat shot for Hero was taken on October 24, 1982. The Mukta Arts logo was also launched during this time. I introduced Jackie Shroff to everyone. Seeing Jackie’s appearance, my financier refused to invest in or distribute the film, saying he didn’t like Hero. I started the film with my own money. The film was made with great difficulty. When it was released, it flopped. People started recognising the film in the second week, liked it in the third week, and it started running in the fourth week, eventually running for 50 weeks.”

A similar interesting story is related to the 1993 film ‘Baazigar‘ starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Shilpa Shetty. ‘Baazigar‘ was declared a major flop before its release. Actor Dilip Tahil, who played the lead villain in the film, once revealed in an interview: “During the film’s shooting, the producers were in a terrible state. When Shah Rukh Khan, as per the film’s plot, was killing Shilpa Shetty by throwing her off the roof, everyone present was saying, ‘What kind of hero is this? Tell me, he’s killing the heroine. This film won’t work.’ Hearing such comments on the set, the distributors and producers were distraught. However, Shah Rukh Khan was fully confident that the film would be a success. When the film was released, the audience showered him with love.”

‘Baazigar‘ became the fourth highest-grossing film of that year, proving to be a turning point in Shah Rukh Khan’s career. Shah Rukh Khan surprised everyone by playing the role of a psycho killer, which the audience loved. The film’s directors, Abbas-Mustan, revealed in an interview that Anil Kapoor was initially offered Shah Rukh Khan’s role, but he declined. Upon hearing the script, Shah Rukh Khan hugged Abbas-Mustan and declared, “I will do this film.” Sridevi was originally supposed to be cast in the film, but she insisted on playing a double role, leading to Kajol and Shilpa Shetty being cast instead.