Amitabh Bachchan started his career with Saat Hindustani- National award but a major disaster. Anand became a cult hit but he had a supporting role. Followed by Bansi and Birju, Sanjog, Ek Nazar, Raaste ka Patthar, Parwana, Saudagar etc. All failed.
Then came Zanjeer. And everything changed. A flop hero with 11 flops ready to go back was given a new lease with a film which his own parents refused to watch because they felt it was a stunt film. Eventually Zanjeer resurected the career of Amitabh and paved the way of his stardom.
Mithun Chakraborty started his career with a National award winning Mrigya. But his next films failed and he was relegated to B grade. Mera Rakshak and Mera Sansar were average, Prem Vivaah and Tere Pyar me were disasters. He even acted as background artists or guest roles in films like Dp Anjaane, Mukti, Amardeep etc. Then a low budget spy movies Suraksha came out of nowhere and became a major hit. This film not only gave ample work to Mithun it made a popular pairing of Mithun and Ranjeeta who went on to do around 25 films.
Saif Ali Khan was utterly flop in the 90’s. He started with a flop Parampara, followed by another flop Pehchan and gave a below average Aashiq Awara to end the year. After giving two hits in 1994 with Akshay Kumar, he couldn't deliver a single hit between 1995–98. He was considered a poor actor till 2001 when his career turned with Dil Chahta Hai, a cult classic which showed his impeccable comic timing and suitability in urban roles. This success was followed by Kal Ho na Ho in 2003, Hum Tum in 2004 and Salaam Namanstey in 2005. They reinforced this image set up by Dil Chahta Hai and he finally found a footing in films.