Date of Birth
Birth Name
Amitabh Harivansh
Srivastav
Nickname
Big B
Munna
Angry Young Man
Bollywood's Shahenshah
Amith
AB Sr.
Munna
Angry Young Man
Bollywood's Shahenshah
Amith
AB Sr.
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini Biography
Son of well known poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan. He has a brother named
Ajitabh. He completed his education from Uttar Pradesh and moved to Bombay to
find work as a film star, in vain though, as film-makers preferred someone with
a fairer skin, and he was not quite fair enough. But they did use one of his
other assets - his deep baritone voice - which was used for narration and
background commentary. He was successful in being cast in Saat Hindustani. He
got his break in Bollywood after a letter of introduction from the then Prime
Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, as he was a friend of her son, Rajiv Gandhi. This
is how Amitabh made an entry in Bollywood, starting with Zanjeer, co-starred
with his future wife Jaya Bhaduri, and since then there has been no looking
back.
He married Jaya Bhaduri, an actress in her own rights, and they had two children, Shweta and Abhishek. Shweta is married, lives a non-filmy life and has two children.
Being friends with Rajiv Gandhi, got him to decide to run for seat in the Congress from his hometown but had to leave midterm because of controversies, particularly after Rajiv and he were implicated in the now infamous "Bofors" case along with the U.K. based Hinduja Brothers.
After a four year break, he was back in the unsuccessful Mrityudaata (1997), a comeback which the actor wanted to forget. Critics written him off but his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). But four flops in 1999 and incurring debt of over 90 Crores rupees of his sinking company ABCL saw him at an all-time low. To make matters worse, after the defeat of the Congress party, Amitabh lost considerable political support, the opposition made him a target, and his credit rating deteriorated to such an extent that a leading nationalized bank, Canara Bank, sued him for outstanding loans. He did bounce back, presenting the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire called "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000). After a series of hits with Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003) andKhakee (2004), this elderly Bachchan is showing no signs of slowing down and proving the critics wrong once again.
His son, Abhishek, is also an actor by his own rights.
Amitabh and Jaya were interested in getting Abhishek married to Karishma, the daughter of Babita and
Randhir Kapoor, they went through a formal engagement,
but later broke it off.
The former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai, and Abhishek, were formally engaged on Sunday January 14, 2007, at the Bachchan residence in Juhu, Bombay, with the marriage taking place at the Bachchan residence on April 20, 2007.
On November 16, 2011, he became a Dada (Paternal Grandfather) when Aishwarya gave birth to a daughter in Mumbai Hospital. He is already a Nana (maternal grandfather) to Navya Naveli and Agastye - Shweta's children.
He continues to be one of the busiest actors and singers in Bollywood as well as on TV, as can be seen from the commercials that he appears on, especially on Sahara One. Looks like there are no limits for this super-star and once the "Angry Young Man" of Bollywood.
He married Jaya Bhaduri, an actress in her own rights, and they had two children, Shweta and Abhishek. Shweta is married, lives a non-filmy life and has two children.
Being friends with Rajiv Gandhi, got him to decide to run for seat in the Congress from his hometown but had to leave midterm because of controversies, particularly after Rajiv and he were implicated in the now infamous "Bofors" case along with the U.K. based Hinduja Brothers.
After a four year break, he was back in the unsuccessful Mrityudaata (1997), a comeback which the actor wanted to forget. Critics written him off but his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). But four flops in 1999 and incurring debt of over 90 Crores rupees of his sinking company ABCL saw him at an all-time low. To make matters worse, after the defeat of the Congress party, Amitabh lost considerable political support, the opposition made him a target, and his credit rating deteriorated to such an extent that a leading nationalized bank, Canara Bank, sued him for outstanding loans. He did bounce back, presenting the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire called "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000). After a series of hits with Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003) andKhakee (2004), this elderly Bachchan is showing no signs of slowing down and proving the critics wrong once again.
His son, Abhishek, is also an actor by his own rights.
Amitabh and Jaya were interested in getting Abhishek married to Karishma, the daughter of Babita and
The former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai, and Abhishek, were formally engaged on Sunday January 14, 2007, at the Bachchan residence in Juhu, Bombay, with the marriage taking place at the Bachchan residence on April 20, 2007.
On November 16, 2011, he became a Dada (Paternal Grandfather) when Aishwarya gave birth to a daughter in Mumbai Hospital. He is already a Nana (maternal grandfather) to Navya Naveli and Agastye - Shweta's children.
He continues to be one of the busiest actors and singers in Bollywood as well as on TV, as can be seen from the commercials that he appears on, especially on Sahara One. Looks like there are no limits for this super-star and once the "Angry Young Man" of Bollywood.
The trademark deep baritone voice, the tall,
brooding persona, and intense eyes, made Amitabh Bachchan the ideal "Angry
Young Man" in the 1975-84. The son of the late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan
and Teji Bachchan, he was born in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. After completing
his education from Sherwood College, Nainital, and Kirori Mal College, Delhi
University, he moved to Calcutta to work for shipping firm Shaw and Wallace.
Later, he moved to Bombay and struggled for a while to get his foot in the door
of the Hindi film industry. The lanky, dark, and intensely brooding persona did
not go down well with directors who were looking for wise-cracking, fair person
- the trademark of the Indian hero in the 1960s. Starting with the low key Saat
Hindustani, Bachchan struggled through many roles and was relegated at times to
doing voice-overs and in one instance playing a deaf-mute. He broke through
with Zanjeer (the Chain) in 1973 playing opposite his real-life love interest
and future wife Jaya Bhaduri. His persona seemed apt for the post emergency
period, capturing the resentment of underemployed youth and the increasing cult
of violence. Bachchan reworked the image of the Hindi film hero with major hits
like Deewar, Sholay, Trishul, Don and Shakti. Adapting former screen idol Dilip
Kumar's mannerisms and adding his own flamboyance, he popularized the violent
melodrama. He proved that he had an equal flair for tragedies (Deewar, Muqaddar
Ka Sikandar, Shakti) and comedies (Chupke Chupke, Don, Naseeb, Amar Akbar
Anthony) as well. His most memorable performance was as the renegade against a
harsh society in Deewar. After Amar Akbar Anthony in which he reveled in the
role of the Cathlolic bootlegger - he played similar "masala" roles,
movies that required action, comedy, tragedy, and romance in one character.
This had disastrous consequences later with movies disintegrating into Amitabh
variety shows rather than plot-driven stories. Bachchan was dubbed the Superstar,
sharing that title with Rajesh Khanna, from 1975 until the mid 1980s.From
1985-1999 he had many flops and people criticized for playing same roles
repeatedly. At the height of his popularity he was injured in an accident while
shooting for the film Coolie - long lines of people prayed for his recovery at
the Breach Candy hospital, underscoring his mega-star status. He left films in
1985 to become a Member of Parliament from Allahabad constituency as a Congress
party candidate, as a favor to his family friend Rajiv Gandhi - the new Prime
MInister of India. A report of involvement in financial irregularities (of
which he was completely cleared later) made him decide to step down as MP. His
return in 1987 was lukewarm as the Hindi film industry had moved on and newer,
younger heroes essayed the part of Angry Young Man with more conviction.
Bachchan seemed to have lost his heart in making films as his later roles did
not show the flicker of passion that had marked earlier efforts in the 1970s.
In 1984, for the first time since 1976, his film flopped and in 1989 3 films
could not recover their money (in the Hindi film industry a flop is a film that
does not recover a distributor's price, not the producer's cost). A series of
lackluster films in the 1990s pointed to a long overdue exit, common to many
other stars. A seemingly well-thought out venture to start a production company
ABCL landed him in immense debts. Astonishingly, he burst back with a double
act: one, playing the stern patriarch and two, reinventing himself as a brand
that in turn, could market anything. He began the latter by hosting the Indian
version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Kaun Banegaa Crorepati). At sixty
plus, Amitabh Bachchan is a greater icon than he was at the height of his popularity
three decades ago.
Mini Biography
Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942
in Allahabad. He is the son of late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji
Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan did his schooling from Sherwood College, Nainital
and later on pursued a degree in science from the Delhi University. His first
job was in Shaw Wallace and later worked as a freight broker for a shipping
firm called Bird and Co. But his destiny had something else to offer and it was
the journey to stardom. He made his debut in the film Saat Hindustani (1969) which was
directed by K.A. Abbas. Film failed on the box-office but Amitabh was noticed
by film makers like Hrishikesh Mukherji and Sunil Dutt. Hrishikesh Mukherji
(whom Amitabh treat as his Godfather),gave him a role in his two films, Anand
and Guddi. Anand was the third film, which became a hit and he got best
supporting actor filmfare award. Amitabh was getting the roles but they were not significant.
Finally he got a chance to work in "Zanjeer", role for which he was
not the first choice. Film turned out to be super-hit. By then a new avatar had
emerged on silver screen, an "Angry young man". But this was his one
aspect. He was a poet (Kabhi Kabhi), an decent professor (Kasme Vaade), a
comedian (Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don), a dying lover (Mukaddar Ka
Sikander).He did almost all kinds of roles. In 1973, after release of Zanjeer,
Amitabh got married with Jaya Bhaduri. He became father at the time of release
of Chupke Chupke. During the shooting of "Coolie" on 26th July 1982,
he was injured and admitted to Breech Candy hospital. The whole nation prayed
for his fast recovery and by the grace of God he was gifted with a new life.
Mrs. Indira Gandhi, then P.M. of India, postponed her foreign trip and visited
the hospital. After recovery Amitabh returned on silver screen, with Sharabi
and Giraftar like hit movies. In the original script of "Coolie"
Iqbal (Amitabh) had to die but Teji Bachchan asked Manmohan Desai to change it
for her personal reasons. The last scene where he stands in the balcony and
thank the people, was the real scene, a way to thank the people of India,
"Main to chala gaya tha, laut aaya hoon to bus aapki duaon se...."
Amitabh also tried his hand in politics in 1984 after the death of Mrs. Gandhi.
He defeated the then called Chankya of the Indian politics, Hemvanti Nandan
Bahuguna. But some how things went wrong and he got trapped in the dirty game
of politics of anti-Rajiv Gandhi. Although during this period his classics
"Main Azad Hoon" and "Agneepath" were released, but Amitabh
was getting older. Amitabh decided to take a break in 1992, Khuda Gawah was the
last release. He then launched ABCL which was a multi-faceted commercial
enterprise. This was the major failure and he was surrounded by unthinkable
debt. This is hard to imagine at that time how he survived but again he proved
that he is not an ordinary man who live and die. With "Kaun Banega
Crorepati" and "Mohabattein" he redefined his position in Indian
cinema. Amitabh emerged again as a winner and slapped the critics who declared
him "finished". Even in this age roles are written for him. Every
film maker is dreaming to cast him in his/her film. He was declared as Star of
the Millenium by BBC poll, by Stardust and even at the survey for statue at
Madam Tusad. These are not mere coincident! May God bless him.
Spouse
Trade Mark
His baritone voice
Trivia
India's second actor to be given Superstar Status is Amitabh.
The first person to be called Superstar was Rajesh Khanna and Khanna alone reigned as superstar from
1969-1976 and Amitabh shared Superstar status with Khanna from 1976-1991.
He launched a multi-faceted commercial enterprise known simply
as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, or ABCL. ABCL is engaged in
production, distribution and all other aspects of the movie industry.
Had a very close association with the former Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi (also Prime Minister) and he
was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home town of Allahabad.
But his stint in politics did not last long and he was implicated in the
infamous Swedish Bofors Gun deal scandal along with Rajiv Gandhi, the U.K.
based Hinduja brothers, and others.
Was one of the judges for the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant.
While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised
and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health.
Was a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company
executive in Calcutta, India.
Went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in the hill-station
town of Nainital, and from there to Delhi University where he earned a double
MA degree.
When he was just trying to get a break in movies he was told to
soften his 'deep' voice. However it was soon realised that his deep rich voice
was excellent for narration. He has provided narrations for several films.
Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia
gravis.
Is a vegetarian
Presenter of Kaun Banega Crorepati, India's version of Who Wants
to be a Millionaire
The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness
displayed at Madame Tussaud's in London, UK
Became the highest paid Hindi actor along-with 'Rajesh Khanna'
in year 1980 and both together held the title till 1987. From 1969-1979 Rajesh Khanna was the only highest paid Indian actor.
Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of
such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Marlon Brando.
Was considered 'finished' in the early nineties after super star
status for 15 years. He had a string of flops from 1985 till 1999. In mid 80's
his political ambition also failed. In 1997 his company became bankrupt. But
made an unexpected comeback as host of the popular TV quiz series"Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000) which put him right back on the number
one spot of Bollywood actors, reaffirming his reputation as the living legend
of Indian cinema.
He also sung in many movies such as Laawaris, Toofan and
Silsila.
Became a grandfather in 1997 when his daughter Shweta gave birth
to a daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda.
Works with the Indian government's media campaign to publicize
the National Immunization Days and encourage people to take their children to
be vaccinated against polio and other deadly diseases.
Suffers from asthma.
His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character
name in over 20 movies.
His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was considering naming him 'Inquilab' (which means 'revolution')
before settling down for Amitabh which means 'brilliance unlimited'.
On his 61st birthday, he relaunched ABCL as AB Corp. ABCL had to
be closed after debts of more than millions of rupees. However, Amitabh has
decided to relaunch it with a name change.
Actress Nirupa Roy is mostly cast as his mother and last time she featured was in Lal Baadshah (1999).
Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree.
The facial caricature of the Indian comic book character
'Supremo' is based upon him.
Following a near fatal accident while shooting Coolie (1983/I), during which he suffered internal
bleeding and required 17 bottles of blood, he became a champion for the cause
of encouraging more people to donate blood.
At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with
co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie Aks (2001).
In 1996, he released an album called "Aby Baby". This
album was released under ABCL and featured songs like "Eer Bir
Phatte" and remixes of his songs from his early movies "O Saathi
Re" and "Kabhi Kabhi". "Eer Bir Phatte" was inspired
by one of his famous dialogues in his movie _Adalat (1976/I)_.
In 1984, he was honored by the Indian government with the Padma
Shri Award for his outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry.
He played double role in 10 films Aadalat (1976), Don (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), The Great Gambler (1979), Desh Premee (1982), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Aakhree Raasta (1986), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Lal Baadshah (1999) and Sooryavansham (1999). Mahaan (1983) had him in a triple role.
He was closely associated with Indira Gandhi, the former Indian
Prime Minister, and her son, Rajiv Gandhi. It was Mrs. Gandhi who wrote a
letter of introduction for Amitabh, and that's how he got his break in
Bollywood.
He was the original choice to play a role in Aapko Pehle Bhi
Kahin Dekha Hai (2003), which he declined and was finally played by Om Puri
His survival and his success could in short be termed best in
his wife's own words that "Amit ji is a loner !"
Although Amitabh Bachchan's Immaan Dharam (1977) proved to be a
disaster, the producer went ahead and announced Asmaan with Dharmendra, Amitabh
Bachchan and Rekha, with Mohan Kumar in the director's seat. Salim-Javed, who
had penned the script of Immaan Dharam, were scripting Asmaan as well. However,
the film was shelved subsequently.
Rakesh Kumar, who had directed Khoon Pasina (1977), Mr.
Natwarlal (1979), Do Aur Do Paanch (1980) and Yaarana (1981), had turned
producer and announced Charlie, with Amitabh Bachchan enacting the title role.
Padmini Kolhapure had been cast opposite the Big B. However, the project never
got made.
Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar were seen on screen for the
first time in Ramesh Sippy's Shakti (1982). But much before Shakti happened,
Eagle Films had signed Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan for their
new project, which was to be directed by Yash Chopra. However, the project did
not materialize subsequently.
In 1976 Amitabh Bachchan was to star in Manoj Kumar's Naya
Bharat, alongside Amitabh it was also supposed to star Manoj Kumar, Hema
Malini, Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman and Rishi
Kapoor. The film was shelved subsequently.
Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Mithun Chakraborty and Rati
Agnihotri were teamed in Tala Chabi, produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Raj
N. Sippy. One of the foremost character actors then, Pran, had been signed to
enact the main villain's role. An official announcement was made in April 1982.
The movie never took off.
Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to play one of the lead roles in
Shashi Kapoor's Utsav (1984) however; Amitabh opted out of the film. Shashi
Kapoor replaced him.
Amitabh Bachchan was the first choice of Rakesh Roshan's King
Uncle (1993). But since the actor wasn't signing films then, Roshan opted for
Jackie Shroff.
Prakash Mehra was planning on making Chankaya Chanddragupta and
had signed Amitabh Bachchan for the main role. The movie was shelved.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted Amitabh Bachchan to play the lead role
of Inspector Inayat Khan in Mission Kashmir (2000). The reason why Amitabh
Bachchan declined the role was because of his commitment to Yash Chopra's
Mohabbatein (2000).
Kader Khan wanted to direct him as the lead hero in Jaahil,
unfortunately the movie was never made.
He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindi
film industry.
Is teetotal
On 31 October 2006, he shocked the unit of a forthcoming movie
Shootout at Lokhandwala by recording 23 scenes in 5 hours. Achieving this feat
was unheard of.
His daughter, Shweta, is married to Nikhil Nanda, who is the
grandson of Raj Kapoor. (Raj Kapoor's daughter, Ritu, took on the last name of
Nanda when she married Rajan).
His daughter, Shweta, was born on March 17th.
His mom, Teji Bachchan, passed away in Lilavati Hospital,
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on December 22, 2007, after a prolonged illness, at
the age of 93.
Has a mannequin of himself in Madam Tussaud's Museum in England.
Along with Shahrukh Khan, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan.
Suffers from vitiligo.
In the 2008 movie, Slumdog Millionaire, Amitabh Bachchan is the
answer to Jamal's first question in the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire? The question: Who was the star in the 1973 hit film Zanjeer?
Through Jamal's flashbacks we get to see Amitabh Bachchan in action.
Amitabh shared the tag of being highest paid Indian actor with Rajesh Khanna from 1980-1987 and was the 4 highest paid
Hindi actor from 1976-1979.
Favourite onscreen name is Vijay. He has played a character
called Vijay 19 times.
Was first named Inquilaab. His mother, Teji Bachchan, was an
active participant in the Satyagraha movement and, despite her pregnancy, she
remained so committed to the cause that many friends of the Bachchans joked
that the baby would be called Inquilab. And he was, till his father's friend,
the poet and novelist Sumitra Nandan Pant, named him Amitabh which means
unlimited.
Had 12 flops before his first big hit, Zanjeer (1973). Zanjeer
made him a star and marked the beginning of the Angry Young Man, a persona
Amitabh Bachchan was to assume on film many times over.
He and Jaya got married a month before Abhimaan released. During
the filming of Zanjeer, the cast and crew had decided to go abroad if the movie
was a hit. As it was the first trip together for Amitabh and Jaya, he sought
his father poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan's permission. His father asked if Jaya
was going too. When Amitabh replied in the affirmative, he was told to marry
her before they left the country.
When Puneet Issar punched him on the sets of Coolie, the actor
first bowed to the entire crew for a perfect shot before crumpling in pain
outside minutes later.
Hindi Megastar.
Personal Quotes
I have never really been confident about my career at any stage.
Everyone must accept "that we will age and age is not
always flattering".
I wish I had time to learn all the languages of our country, I
wish I knew how to play a musical instrument. There are many things that I feel
I have missed out on.
(Referring to Abhishek Bachchan) "Like any other father I feel
proud to see my son on the silver screen."
(When asked about his dancing with Shilpa Shetty in Lal Baadshah (1999)) "But I would dance with my
daughter if I could. And if I can dance with Shilpa Shetty, then I will do
that."
I have never been a superstar and never believed in it. For me
if there was a superstar its Rajesh Khanna. His body of work, his sense of melody,
involvement in music plus his fan following was really of a different league.
He is the best superstar-cum-super-actor. The word "superstar" in the
Indian film industry was for the first time coined for him.
The amount of things I have been through and the remarkable ways
in which the body has reacted is just phenomenal. No wonder I became religious,
because you don't know why something's happening to you and you don't know how
you bounced back.
His thoughts on working in Hollywood: "You don't see
Indians in Hollywood films around which a story can revolve. As soon as we have
a social presence in your society, I am sure there will be many actors from our
part of the world that will be acting in Hollywood films. I have always been a
great admirer of Marlon Brando, Al Paccinno, Robert De Niro. I would love to
walk into the frame, hold their briefcase!"
(2000) Whether it was in sets of Anand or Namak Haram, we never
bickered or argued or tried to upstage one another in any manner. On the
contrary Kaka does'n know this, but when I was working in Calcutta and keen to
join films, the inspiration to join was Mr. Rajesh Khanna. Kaka had
succeeded in Filmfare contest and I said "My God, here is an excellent
opportunity where somebody is actually auditioned and here this gentleman who
has made it and is doing so well." Then wonder of wonders in 2 years
Hrishida asked to work with Kaka. It was a dream come true for me.
(1991) It was a dream come true for me because of there was this
great admiration for Kaka and his phenomenal success. The hysteria that he
evoked was witnessed for first time in Hindi Films. And we were all part of
that hysteria that followed Kaka. I got famous purely because I was working
with Rajesh Khanna. People came
and asked me questions like "How does he look?" So I became very
important, thanks to Kaka. I have always maintained that person who is my
senior will always remain senior. I have never argued about billings because I
don't think they mean anything. And I have had always greatest respect for
Kaka.
Rajesh Khanna for me will remain the only superstar in true
sense. He appeared in 153 films by 1991 - that is in a span of 25 years which
already included 101 solo hero films and did only 21 multi star-cast films.
Everyone knows his involvement in music of his films.He was so hardworking that
each year he had minimum 3 films releasing and still managed to give 95 jubilee
hits!! Hats off to him. My achievements are no-where near him. In-fact I did
more multi star-cast films and less solo hero films than him. Once i got
success in angry young man genre I had to stick to it and whenever I tried to
do something different it was a failure so I stayed away from experimenting
much. But Khanna never bothered about such things. In-spite of not working much
after 1991 he has done 180 films and Am far behind him. I have highest regards
for him since the 1965 when I heard about him then my respect only increased
when I worked with him and till date I regard him as a greater actor.
Salary
INR 5'000
|
Real name: Amitabh Shrivastava
Age: 70 years
Birthday: 11th October, 1942
Zodiac: Libra
Marital status: Married to Jaya Bhaduri; one son, Abhishek Bachchan, and one daughter, Shweta Nanda.
Awards: Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour from the Government of India. 3 National Film Awards For Best Actor; 1 National Film Award For Best Newcomer. 5 Filmfare Best Actor Awards; 3 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Awards; 2 Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance; Filmfare Superstar of the Millennium
Trivia: Amitabh Bachchan was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987.
He suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.
He is the first Asian actor to have a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussaud’s in London, UK.
He is one of the few actors to have played a triple role – Mahaan (1983)
Amitabh Bachchan Biography
Amitabh Bachchan’s trademark deep baritone voice, tall, brooding persona and intense eyes, made him the ideal “Angry Young Man”, setting him apart from the cluster of Bollywood’s lover boys. However, his unconventional looks did work against him at the beginning of his Bollywood career, but he stayed around long enough to be become the icon of the Indian film industry.
Amitabh Bachchan was born in Allahabad in 1942, to Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan. Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab. However, at the suggestion of fellow poet, Harivansh Rai changed the name to Amitabh which means, “the light that would never go off.” Though his surname was Shrivastava, he replaced it with ‘Bachchan’, which was his father’s pen name. Amitabh Bachchan studied in Allahabad at Jnana Pramodhini and Boys High School. He completed his education at Sherwood College in Nainital and Kirori Mal College in Delhi. His first job was in Shaw Wallace. Amitabh later worked as a freight broker for a shipping firm called Bird and Co., in Kolkata, a job he quit to pursue a career in acting.
In 1969, Amitabh made his debut with Saat Hindustani, which won him the National Film Award for Best Newcomer. After this came movies like Reshma Aur Shera, Parwana, and Anand in 1971. He made a huge impact with his performance in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand alongside Rajesh Khanna, winning him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. His breakthrough as a lead was in the film Zanjeer (1973) which established his persona of the “angry young man” of Bollywood. Amitabh reworked the image of the Hindi film hero with major hits like Deewar, Sholay, Trishul and Don. He popularised the violent melodrama genre but had an equal flair for tragedies (Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Shakti) and comedies (Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony) as well. His status as a demi-god was evident when the entire nation prayed for his recovery when he met with a fatal injury during the making of Coolie in July, 1982.
In 1984, Amitabh entered politics in support of long time friend Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad’s Lok Sabha seat and won by a huge margin. Accusations of him being involved in the Bofors Scandal made him quit politics, although, later on, he was proved innocent. Amitabh returned to films with blockbusters like Shahenshah, Agneepath, Hum and Khuda Gawah. A series of flops in mid 90’s and the collapse of his company, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. landed him in immense debts. He returned back to movies but with no success.
In the year 2000, he stepped up to host the television show Kaun Banega Crorepati and later was seen in Mohabbatein along with Shah Rukh Khan. Both these ventures proved extremely successful. Since then Amitabh has been on a roll. At sixty plus, with all the endorsements and accolades, he is a greater icon than he was at the height of his popularity three decades ago.
In recent past we have seen Amitabh doing vastly different roles in fims like Sarkar Raj, The Last Lear, Paa, Teen Patti and Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap.
He was last seen in Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan in 2011, the film failed to do well at the box-office but Amitabh’s role was widely appreciated.
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