He returned to films in 1997, but for a year or so, hits still eluded him. His first comeback vehicle, Mrityudaata produced by his own production company ABCL, was a box-office disaster. Subsequent films, such as Major Saab (1997), Sooryavansham (1999), and Lal Baadshah (1999) also failed at the box office.The first two of his comeback films to succeed were the 1998 comedy Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in which he starred with Govinda, and 2000's Mohabbatein, which co-starred Shah Rukh Khan.
Amitabh Bachchan's return as a superstar.
Bachchan then accepted an television offer to host an Indian version of the popular British game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, or Kaun Banega Crorepati?. The show was a hit, to the point that the Theatre Owner's Association president requested it be aired in the morning, as it was seriously cutting into theatre attendance on the four nights per week it was aired. Two films that followed, in which he appeared as a stern patriarch, Ek Rishta (2001) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), were both box office hits.
He has since appeared in a number of films each year, sometimes in unconventional or supporting roles. He has been praised for his performances in films such as Aks (2001), Aankhen(2002), Baghban(2003), Khakee(2004) and Dev. In 2005, he appeared in the film Black, in which he played the driven, eccentric alcoholic teacher of a deaf and blind student played by Rani Mukerji. In the same year he co-starred for the first time with his son Abhishek in the comedy Bunty Aur Babli and the Godfather-esque crime drama Sarkar both of which were hits at the box office. He once again appeared with Abhishek, playing a sex-obsessed father in the newly-released Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006).
