When friends turn foe: What led to Govinda's downfall in Bollywood?

Actor Govinda, aka Chi-Chi, is well known for his slapstick performances, unusual fashion sense, and unmatched dancing skills. One of the most popular actors in the late 80s and the whole 90s, Govinda's first film was Ilzaam (1986) and he has appeared in over 165 Hindi films since.

Starting out as an action and dancing hero in the 1980s, his earlier box-office hits include Ilzaam (1986), Love 86 (1986), Hatya (1988), Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988), Do Qaidi (1989), and Hum (1991). However, Govinda would go on to reinvent himself as a comedy hero in the 1990s after his role as a mischievous young NCC cadet in the 1992 romance Shola Aur Shabnam.

One of the busiest stars in the 1990s and early 2000s, Govinda slowly faded away from the silver screen. His downfall was sudden and abrupt. There were also rumours of filmmakers avoiding him due to his extremely arrogant and unprofessional behaviour on sets.

There were claims that success has made Govinda snooty and that even filmmaker David Dhawan, who has worked with Chi-Chi in numerous hit films, had stopped working with him due to this very reason.

In a previous interview, the 58-year-old actor opened up on all the allegations levelled against him and clarified that there is no truth to these. “When you’re successful, there are many who’ll try to pull you down. When I was at my peak for 14-15 years, when everything was going in my favour, nobody raised these issues. This is the film industry, people change with time, and so do equations,” he said.

Govinda further stated how he was sidelined by people from the industry, who had turned against him.

"I was at the top for 14 years, there was no planning. But when I realized that people were turning against me, I couldn’t do anything about it. People who grow up with astrology, numerology, Vastu shastra… They don’t pay attention to these puny people. It’s too small a factor to look at. Mountains crumble too," said the Bhagam Bhaag (2007) actor.