Govinda says Bollywood conspired against him, reveals he's lost ₹16 crore

Actor Govinda has said that a conspiracy has been hatched against him by certain sections of the film industry. He said that he has been deliberately sidelined, which has resulted in financial losses for him.

In an interview, Govinda refused to slander the recent Coolie No 1 remake, which opened to negative reviews after its debut on Amazon Prime Video last year. The film, directed by Govinda's one-time creative partner David Dhawan, was a remake of their 1995 hit comedy, and starred Varun Dhawan in the lead role.

Asked if the film shouldn't have been made, Govinda told The Times of India, "You will never see me speaking against others. While others often like to talk about me, I never talk about their work or judge it because I respect everybody's hard work and money invested."

The actor continued, "In the last 14-15 years, I have invested money and lost around ₹16 crore. I was treated badly by some people from the fraternity too. My films didn't get theatres and they wanted to demolish my career, which didn't happen. Now, I am ready to kick-start 2021 in a big way."

Asked if there's been a conspiracy against him in Bollywood, he said, "Yes, of course it was. As they say, apne bhi paraye ho jaate hain (friends turn their backs on you). If fate is not on your side, then your own people also turn against you."

In recent years, Govinda has often spoken against David. Speaking with journalist Rajat Sharma on the show Aap Ki Adalat, Govinda had said that David refused to return his calls when he needed a career boost. Govinda said, "After I left politics, I told my secretary to keep the phone speaker on, so that I could listen what he (David Dhawan) was saying. I heard David saying, Chi-Chi (Govinda's nickname) is questioning a lot. He was telling my secretary, I do not want to work with Govinda anymore. Tell him to do some small bit roles."