Producer claims Amitabh Bachchan refused to 'buy' Best Actor Award but Anil Kapoor accepted it

Indian producer and theatre owner Manoj Desai has made a startling claim about Bollywood award politics, recalling an incident in which Amitabh Bachchan allegedly refused an offer to “buy” a Best Actor award, after which the honour was instead given to Anil Kapoor.

Speaking in an interview with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Desai reflected on an episode from the past involving an awards ceremony.

He said that while he was sitting with Amitabh Bachchan during the event, late film writer Rauf Ahmed approached him with a proposal tied to the Best Actor trophy.

Manoj recalled Rauf asking him, “If I give the Best Actor award to Amitabh Bachchan, will you bear the whole expense of this party?” Desai said he then went to Bachchan to discuss the offer, but the megastar immediately turned it down.

According to Manoj, Bachchan firmly responded, “Amitabh Bachchan doesn’t buy awards”. He further claimed that Bachchan predicted the eventual winner, saying, “I know whom this award will go, it will go to Anil Kapoor and he has already organised a big party on the terrace of his house”.

Desai alleged that Anil Kapoor did go on to receive the Best Actor award that year because he had agreed to pay for the Filmfare party, stating that Kapoor “had agreed to pay for the Filmfare party and that’s why he got the award.”

However, this claim does not align with official records. Anil Kapoor did not win the Filmfare Best Actor award for Mr India in 1987.

His first Best Actor win came in 1989 for Tezaab, the same year Amitabh Bachchan was also nominated for Shahenshah.

Manoj Desai further said that Bachchan was not the only actor to reject such offers.

He claimed veteran star Dharmendra followed the same principle and refused to buy awards. He said, “Dharmendra also 100% refused such offer. He said he won’t buy any award.”

Desai added that Dharmendra later spoke about this publicly when he received his Lifetime Achievement award, stating that he deserved recognition for several earlier films but never received it.

Desai also spoke briefly about Khuda Gawah, the 1992 film he produced.

Directed by Mukul S Anand, the film was extensively shot in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan.

It starred Amitabh Bachchan, Shilpa Shirodkar, Nagarjuna, and Sridevi in a dual role as mother and daughter. The film was a box office success and followed the story of an Afghan warrior who embarks on a perilous journey after falling in love with a woman from a rival clan.