The 1970s and 80s saw a tonal shift in Hindi cinema. The explosion of Amitabh Bachchan's Angry Young Man made films grander and bigger. Even social dramas and period pieces became more 'epic' in nature.
Right after the release of Sholay, filmmaker Kamal Amrohi set out to make a period drama on that scale. His dream project - meant to be the next Mughal-e-Azam, took seven years to make. But the end result was so disastrous that the entire film industry was pulled into debt.
( Also read: When India's most expensive film bombed on Diwali, empty theatres demanded refund, superstar had to issue apology ) The tragedy that was Razia Sultan Razia Sultan , Kamal Amrohi's biopic of India's only female Muslim ruler, was eventually released in 1983. It was made on a reported budget of ₹ 10 crore, pipping Shaan to become the most expensive Indian film made at the time. With a big cast led by Hema Malini and featuring Dharmendra , Parveen Babi, Sohrab Modi, and Ajit, the film was the most anticipated release of its time.
But it bombed badly. Viewers found the Urdu used in the film too complex, while others criticised the lengthy runtime. There was criticism of Dharmendra employing blackface to play the Abyssinian slave warrior Yakut, as well.
All these combined to sink Razia Sultan, which only managed to earn ₹ 2 crore at the box office. The row over Razia Sultan's same-sex 'kiss' One of the themes in Razia Sultan was about the titular queen's loneliness at the top. The film explored h.