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Career fluctuations, sabbatical, business ventures and acting comeback (1989–1999)

After the success of his comeback film however, Bachchan's star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films like Jaadugar, Toofan and Main Azaad Hoon (all released in 1989) failed at the box office. He gained success during this period with K.C. Bokadia and Mukul Anand 's actioners Aaj Ka Arjun (1990) and Hum (1991), respectively, but this momentum was short-lived and his string of box office flops continued. Notably, despite a decline in number of hits, it was during this era that Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance as a Mafia don in the cult film Agneepath (1990). These years would see his last on-screen appearances for some time. After the release of the critically acclaimed epic Khuda Gawah in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years. Except for the much delayed Insaniyat (1994) alongside Sunny Deol, which was highly anticipated and received the biggest opening of the year but turned out to be a box office failure due to negative reception, Bachchan did not appear in any new releases for five years.

He turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (ABCL) in 1996. ABCL's strategy was to introduce products and services covering an entire cross-section of India's entertainment industry. ABCL's operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, and celebrity and event management. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film it produced was Tere Mere Sapne, which was a box office hit and launched the careers of actors like Arshad Warsi and southern film star Simran.

In 1997, Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film Mrityudata, produced by ABCL. Though Mrityudaata attempted to reprise Bachchan's earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically. ABCL was the main sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant, Bangalore, but lost millions. The fiasco and the consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top-level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997. The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by the Indian Industries board. The Bombay High Court, in April 1999, restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats until the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of. Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to raise funds for his company.

Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career, and eventually had commercial success with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) and Major Saab (1998), and received positive reviews for Sooryavansham (1999), but other films such as Lal Baadshah (1999) and Kohram (1999) were box office failures.