Actors who were not successful as director

Here’s a list of 10 actors who didn’t enjoy the best run as directors.

1. Shashi Kapoor: Kapoor’s fantasy superhero film Ajooba, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor, is best remembered for its Russian actors whose speech was anything but in sync with Hindi dialogues. The ostentatious, bizarre film based on Arabian mythology earned about Rs.2.3 crore and remains one of Bollywood’s biggest failures.

2. Hema Malini: Malini is credited with introducing Shah Rukh Khan to audiences with her romantic film Dil Aashna Hai in 1992. Many years later, she directed her daughter Esha Deol in a family drama called Tell Me O Kkhuda released in 2011 about a young girl who learns she’s adopted and sets off in search of her birth parents. With collections of Rs.1.25 crore and Rs.1.28 crore, respectively, the two films didn’t fare well.

3. Naseeruddin Shah: Shah directed Yun Hota To Kya Hota, a drama about four people whose lives intersect during the 9/11 attacks, which released in 2006. Featuring an ensemble cast, including Konkona Sen Sharma, Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal, Jimmy Shergill, Irrfan Khan and others, the film made a little over Rs.70 lakh in box office collections.

4. Rishi Kapoor: Like many other members of his family, Kapoor also took the director’s chair. Aa Ab Laut Chalein, starring Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was a romantic family drama propagating love for India and all Indian things . The film was a below-average performer at the box office with collections of Rs.9 crore.

5. Anupam Kher: The internationally renowned actor has directed one film till date—the family saga Om Jai Jagadish in 2002, starring Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Urmila Matondkar. The sugar-coated story earned about Rs.6 crore in box office collections and was a failure at the box office.

6. Shammi Kapoor: Kapoor directed the highly progressive Manoranjan, starring Zeenat Aman in 1974, and romantic comedy Bundal Baaz, starring Rajesh Khanna in 1976. Neither was commercially successful.

7. Ajay Devgn: Devgn directed his first feature film U Me Aur Hum in 2008. The warm romantic drama co-starred wife Kajol but despite intense performances by both of them, the film, a lift from The Notebook, hardly made an impact, collecting only about Rs.11 crore at the box office. Devgn then took another shot at direction with a high-voltage action drama called Shivaay, in which he stars himself and which is produced by Eros International. It went up against Karan Johar’s Aye Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) on Diwali Day. Shivaay had jaw dropping action scenes and awesome acting by Ajay.  The film primarily ran in single screen theaters for the last couple of weeks and this is the segment that has been impacted most by demonetization. The film managed to do decent business in box office.

8. Pankaj Kapur: Veteran actor Pankaj Kapur directed son Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in Mausam, a 2011 romantic drama. The film was set against the backdrop of life-changing incidents of Indian history from the Babri Masjid demolition to the Godhra riots. The length and old-world vibes didn’t work for Kapur and the film tanked with collections of Rs.29 crore and some savage reviews

9. Jagdeep: The ace comedian directed a film called Soorma Bhopali in 1988, which, as the name suggests, was a spin-off on his legendary comic character from Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay. Actors Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan did cameos in the film that earned about Rs.80 lakh.

10. Atul Agnihotri: Before producing Salman Khan’s mega-hit Bodyguard (its earnings stand at almost Rs.150 crore), Agnihotri directed the actor in two forgettable films. Romantic drama Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha (2004), also featuring Preity Zinta and Bhoomika Chawla, made a little over Rs.3 crore. His 2008 thriller Hello, based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel One Night @the Call Center, ended up with Rs.4 crore.

Naseeruddin Shah, Hema Malini, Anupam Kher