Amitabh Bachchan Biography
Amitabh
Bachchan -- the ‘Shahenshah’ of Bollywood was born to well-known poet
Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan in Allahabad on October 11,
1942.
Amitabh went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in
Nainital, and then to Kirori Mal College in Delhi University where he
earned a double MA.
The elder son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan was
a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company executive in
Shaw Wallace in Calcutta, before coming to the land of dreams, Bombay
(now Mumbai). He had to struggle a lot in Bollywood because of his
unconventional looks and his height. At 6’3”, he was considered far too
tall by the filmmakers. Surprisingly, despite having a rich baritone
voice, Bachchan failed in an audition at the All India Radio!
Ultimately,
it was K A Abbas who gave Amitabh his first break in ‘Saat Hindustani’
(1969). But the film failed miserably, with Bachchan going almost
unnoticed.
Amitabh played the lead role, for the first time in his career, in ‘Pyar Ki Kahani’ (1971), directed by Ravikant Nagaich.
It
was on the sets of B R Ishara’s ‘Ek Nazar’ (1972) that Amitabh and Jaya
Bhaduri realized that they were in love with each other. They married
soon after.
Though Amitabh got an award for the best supporting
actor for ‘Anand’ (1972), he was eclipsed by a stellar performance from
Rajesh Khanna.
It was his 13th film 'Zanjeer’, directed by
Prakash Mehra, which catapulted Amitabh to fame. In the film, he played
a strict police officer. The role, which fetched him the title ‘The
Angry Young Man’, came to him by default. A host of actors like
Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Raj Kumar refused to do the role on account
of some apprehension.
Then began a remarkable journey to fame
and success. In no time the Indian film industry was declared a ‘One
Man Industry’, and Bachchan its undisputed king.
Amitabh had his
‘sweet revenge’ against Rajesh Khanna by outshining him in ‘Namak
Haraam’ (1974). The film secured him another award for Best Supporting
Actor.
The year 1975 saw the release of Amitabh’s two biggest
hits till date. Ramesh Sippy’s ‘Sholay’ and Yash Chopra’s ‘Deewaar’.
Amitabh got his first Best Actor Award for Manmohan Desai’s ‘Amar Akbar
Anthony’ (1977), next year for ‘Don’ and then for ‘Hum’ (1991).
He also bagged the National Award for Best Actor for ‘Agneepath’, which was made by the late Mukul Anand.
Amitabh
worked with a host of directors in the 70s and the 80s ranging from
Prakash Mehra to Yash Chopra and from Hrishikesh Mukherjee to Manmohan
Desai.
After ‘Zanjeer’ Amitabh again joined hands with Prakash
Mehra to give hits like ‘Hera Pheri’ (1975), ‘Muqaddar Ka Siqander’
(1979), ‘Lawaaris’ (1981), ‘Namak Halaal’ (1982) and ‘Sharaabi’ (1984).
Yash
Chopra exploited the romantic side of Bachchan to the hilt in ‘Kabhi
Kabhie’ (1976) and ‘Silsila’ (1981). Bachchan also did the ‘angry’
roles with Yash Chopra in ‘Trishul’ (1978) and ‘Kaala Patthar’ (1979).
Bachchan
essayed a fantastic range of ‘off-beat’ roles under the direction of
veteran Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Apart from ‘Anand’ and ‘Namak Haraam’, he
gave standout performances in ‘Abhimaan’ (1973) ‘Mili’ (1975), ‘Chupke
Chupke’ (1975), ‘Jurmana’ (1979) and ‘Bemisaal’ (1982).
With the
late Manmohan Desai, the director with the Midas touch, Amitabh did
nine films, which included blockbusters like ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’,
‘Suhaag’ (1979) and ‘Coolie’ (1983).
The adulation for Amitabh
became clear when he was gravely injured during the filming of ‘Coolie’
in 1983. While he was battling for life in the hospital, the whole
nation offered prayers at temples and mosques for his recovery. His
other hits with ‘Man’ were ‘Parvarish’ (1977), ‘Naseeb’ (1981), ‘Desh
Premee’ (1982) and ‘Mard’ (1985).
Amitabh’s sizzling on-screen
chemistry with Rekha worked wonders at the box office. No wonder, the
delectable duo was considered one of the most successful Bollywood
pairs. They worked together for the first time in Dulal Guha’s ‘Do
Anjaane’ (1976).
Amitabh matched the acting skills of another
great actor in Ramesh Sippy’s ‘Shakti’ (1982). The son of a strict
police officer (Dilip Kumar), he takes to the life of high crime and
smuggling. It was a big challenge for Amitabh the actor, and he came
out with flying colors.
In the wake of the assassination of
Indira Gandhi in 1984, on the advice of his close friend Rajiv Gandhi,
he contested the general elections for the first time from his hometown
Allahabad. His electoral debut proved the Waterloo of stalwart H N
Bahuguna.
His stint in politics, however, proved short-loved. As
ill luck would have it, Amitabh got embroiled in some scandals. Having
realized that politics was not his cup of tea, Amitabh resigned his
seat in Parliament, vowing never to dabble in politics again.
In
1988 came Tinu Anand’s ‘Shahenshah’. It blazed a new trail, with
Amitabh becoming the first major film star to take his film’s
distribution rights for Mumbai in lieu of his salary.
The
post-‘Shahenshah’ period marked a lull in the career of Amitabh. A host
of mediocre films like ‘Ganga Jamuna Saraswati’, ‘Toofan’, ‘Jaadugar’
littered this phase of Bachchan’s career.
But then, the Big B
bounced back – in brilliant fashion-- when the industry started to
write him off. The comeback film was ‘Hum’ (1991) which was a smashing
hit, thanks to Big B’s stellar performance.
A few years later,
Amitabh started his own production company, the Amitabh Bachchan
Corporation Limited (ABCL). ABCL ventured into film distribution with
Mani Ratnam’s ‘Bombay’. It also was the principal sponsor of the Miss
Universe Contest, held in Bangalore in 1996.
Unfortunately, ABCL
fell on evil days, buried neck deep in debt. The company’s cup of woe
ran over when his films flopped miserably at the box-office. And he was
again ‘written off’ by the industry.
This time, too, Bachchan
bounced back in style. Only, it was his performance on the small screen
that revived the Bachchan magic. The host of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’
once again rode the roller coaster of fame. A mellowed Bachchan found
himself firmly ‘locked’ in the hearts of millions of his adoring fans.
The show represented a paradigm shift in the history of Indian
television. It is still luxuriating in the lap of success.
Then
came the international accolades. Amitabh was chosen Superstar of the
Millennium, easing out giants like Sir Lawrence Olivier and Charlie
Chaplin on a BBC online poll. National recognition followed soon. On
January 26, 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his outstanding
contributions to Indian Cinema.
Amitabh is a relieved man now,
having paid off all his debts. What is more, he is once again a force
to reckon with in the Indian film industry and has some very
interesting films coming up.
Undoubtedly, Amitabh is still the
Shahenshah of the Indian film industry. The Big B is an icon who has
survived three decades of competition, even trends. And emerged a
winner.
Amitabh Bachchan Filmography
Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag ( Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Prashant Raj, Mohanlal, Sushmita Sen, Nisha Kothari, Rajpal Yadav)
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom ( Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Bobby Deol, Amitabh Bachchan)
Cheeni Kum ( Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal)
Eklavya (
Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Jackie
Shroff, Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, Raima Sen, Sharmila Tagore)
Shootout At Lokhandwala ( Vivek Oberoi, Sanjay Dutt, Tusshar Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Sunil Shetty)
Nishabd ( Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan)
Baabul ( Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee, John Abraham, Om Puri)
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna ( Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Kiron Kher)
Darna Zaroori Hai ( Amitabh Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Mallika Sherawat, Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Randeep Hooda, Sunil Shetty)
Family - Ties Of Blood ( Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Aryeman, Bhumika Chawla)
Ek Ajnabee ( Amitabh Bachchan, Perizaad Zorabian, Vikram Chatwal)
Dil Jo Bhi Kahey ( Karan Sharma, Amitabh Bachchan, Revathy, Annabelle Wallace, Bhumika Chawla)
Viruddh ( Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, John Abraham, Anusha Dandekar)
Sarkar ( Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay, Katrina Kaif)
Paheli ( Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Juhi Chawla, Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Anupam Kher)
Bunty Aur Babli ( Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Amitabh Bachchan)
Waqt – A Race Against Time ( Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra)
Black ( Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee)
Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo ( Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Divya Khosla)
Kyon, Ho Gaya Na ( Aishwarya Rai, Vivek Oberoi, Amitabh Bachchan)
Lakshya ( Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan)
Deewar ( Amitabh Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, Amrita Rao, Sanjay Dutt)
Dev ( Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Amrish Puri, Fardeen Khan, Kareena Kapoor)
Hum Kaun Hai ( Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia, Moushmi Chatterjee, Dharmendra)
Aitbaar ( Amitabh Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, John Abraham)
Khakee ( Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Tusshar Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai)
Baghban ( Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Salman Khan)
Boom ( Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Katrina Kaif, Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre, Gulshan Grover)
Armaan ( Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Gracy Singh, Preity Zinta)
Agni Varsha ( Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Amitabh Bachchan)
Kaante ( Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Lucky Ali)
Aankhen ( Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Sushmita Sen, Paresh Rawal)
Hum Kisise Kum Nahin ( Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham ( Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor)
Amar Akbar Anthony ( Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Shabana Azmi, Neetu Singh, Pran)
Kabhie Kabhie ( Amitabh Bachchan, Simi Garewal, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh)
Don (1978) ( Zeenat Aman, Amitabh Bachchan, Pran)
Deewar ( Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Shashi Kapoor, Neetu Singh)
Anand ( Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan)
Sholay ( Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan)
Aks ( Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpai, Nandita Das, Raveena Tandon)
Ek Rishta ( Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Juhi Chawla, Karisma Kapoor)
Mohabbatein (
Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy
Shergill, Shamita Shetty, Kim Sharma, Preeti Jhangiani, Aishwarya Rai)
Lawaaris ( Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Amjad Khan)
Mrityudaata ( Amitabh Bachchan, Karisma Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia)
Sooryavansham ( Amitabh Bachchan, Soundarya, Anupam Kher, Kader Khan)
Kohram ( Amitabh Bachchan, Nana Patekar, Danny Denzongpa, Jackie Shroff, Tabu)
Hindustan Ki Kasam ( Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Manisha Koirala, Sushmita Sen)
