In the world of Bollywood where star power usually ensures box-office hits there can be only occasional instances where even the top star couldnt rescue a movie. . One such unexpected example was Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) a film that had the top two industry stars—Rishi Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai sharing the screen. The expectations ran high but what resulted left everyone in the audience and even the critics disillusioned. The movie was Kapoors directorial venture after years of working as an actor. Having acted in numerous blockbusters since his breakthrough role in Bobby during the 1970s Kapoor was a familiar name in Bollywood. Of course there was huge expectation surrounding him making the shift from actor to director. But the movie in spite of all the glossy colours and promising talent did not touch the hearts of audience members. Sharing the screen space with Aishwarya Rai who was a top heroine then the film was touted to make a killing at the box office. However none of her star status or good looks could help save the movie. Along with her Akshaye Khanna set out the male lead—his performance was majorly criticized as excessively dramatic and not very deep with people dubbing it as a case of overacting. The movie trembled on various counts. The plot did not strike a chord with the people the music did not impact and even with two stars names on the cover the emotional complexity was short of expectations. Strangely because of its promise Aa Ab Laut Chalen was labeled as a huge flop. What added insult to injury was that this was Rishi Kapoors sole and initial attempt as a director. The experience had left him so disillusioned that he never ventured into direction again. Critics as well as the audience felt that the failure was not because of the lack of talent but due to a difference between what people expected and what they got. Today Aa Ab Laut Chalen is an example that even movies supported by starry names and the whos who of Bollywood can go wrong. Its also the only misstep in Rishi Kapoors otherwise golden career—a rare failure in an otherwise impressive ride through Indian cinema.