The film was on the verge of being labelled a flop. That’s when Jeetendra came up with an extraordinary idea to save it. Scroll down to know the name.
Indian cinema has witnessed the release of countless films over the years, some of which have gone on to become massive hits, while others failed to make a mark. Similarly, a movie released 57 years ago struggled at the box office for weeks. However, the lead actor came up with an ingenious strategy to revive the film, helping the makers recover their costs. Following this, fans literally lined up in queues to watch the film. The movie featured big names from the industry, such as Jeetendra, Babita Kapoor, Aruna Irani, Kanchan, Sajjan, and Manohar Deepak.
If you are wondering which film this is, it’s Farz. Initially, after its release, the movie failed to attract audiences to theatres, and its box office collections were extremely disappointing. The film was on the verge of being labelled a flop. That’s when Jeetendra came up with an extraordinary idea to save it.
According to IMDb, the movie struggled for 12 weeks with poor performance. However, in the 12th week, Jeetendra used his own money to buy all the tickets. This move was aimed at ensuring that theatre owners wouldn’t pull the movie from the screens. Jeetendra believed that if the film remained in theatres for at least 15 weeks, it had a chance to succeed. His gamble paid off. Within no time, the film gained traction and turned into a blockbuster. Farz eventually became the third-highest-grossing film of 1967.
The success of the film proved to be a turning point in Jeetendra’s career. It also earned him the title of “Jumping Jack” due to his energetic dance moves. Interestingly, the film was initially offered to Shashi Kapoor and Manoj Kumar, but both declined for various reasons.
The movie was helmed by Ravikant Nagaich, and Farz marked his debut as a director. As for Jeetendra, before entering the showbiz industry, he worked with his father at their jewellery shop in Mumbai and even supplied costume jewellery for film productions.
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