Once Govinda signed 36 films in a single sitting, which indicates how successful he was in the 1990s. Then, what went wrong?
A still from Raja Babu (1994).
Possible reasons for Govinda’s decline:
1) Govinda's last worth-remembering work was Hadh Kar Di Aapne and Kunwara in 2000. Further films/roles were dull and not the kind of work Govinda was known for. Even though he gave a few more Filmfare Award-nominated performances post-2000, the audience wasn’t amused. Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001) and Akhiyon Se Goli Maare (2002) were flops and that was the start of Govinda's decline.
2) Rejecting great films. Govinda rejected films like Taal (1999), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), Devdas (2002), etc. These decisions were conscious and did a lot of damage to Govinda’s career.
3) Joining politics. In 2003-04, Govinda joined politics. He had no film releases in 2004 and just 2 easily-forgotten releases in 2005. His disastrous political career almost ended his film career.
4) Anger. After getting a decent comeback with films like Bhagam Bhag (2006) and Partner (2007), Money Hai Toh Honey Hai (2008) was yet another film which may have given him more control. But, during the shoot of the film, he slapped a struggling actor named Santosh Rai. A case was filed against him which remained in the court for years. He had to finally apologize for his behaviour.
5) Distance from David Dhawan. Dhawan was probably the most influential man in Govinda's career. Dhawan's first film Taaqatwar (1989) starred Govinda and both later collaborated in 17 films. After Do Knot Disturb (2009), Dhawan never worked with Govinda. Govinda claimed in an interview that ‘Dhawan stopped working with him and had suggested others to do the same’.
6) Lack of entertaining cast. Throughout the 1990s, Govinda worked with many actors and comedians who were generally cast as his sidekicks or villains. These actors included Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Johnny Lever, Asrani, Paresh Rawal, etc. This strong-cast repetition had made Govinda a super-star during the 1990s, which wasn’t effectively repeated in the 2000s.
7) Multiple rifts. With his successful years long gone, Govinda seemed frustrated and angry. During the 2010s, he had disputes with people. One of them with his own nephew, comedian-actor Krushna Abhishek. Govinda's wife Sunita Ahuja too assisted him in the dispute against Krushna and his wife Kashmira Shah. Govinda finally shared a stage with Krushna during an episode of The Drama Company (2017-18), but, his unnecessary rifts with multiple people haven’t ended so far.