Born to Harivansh Rai, famous Indian poet, and Teji Bachchan October
11, 1942 in Allahabad, Amitabh borrowed his father's pen name 'Bachchan'
instead of the family surname Srivastava. Amitabh did his early schooling
from Allahabad's Boys' High School and later shifted to Sherwood College
in Nainital, where he earned a degree in Arts. After that he enrolled
himself at Delhi's Kirori Mal College for a degree in science. After
completing his studies, Amitabh took up a job in a shipping firm called
Bird and Co. in Kolkata, but very soon he left it to pursue a career
in films.
He debuted with "Saat Hindustani", his only black and white
venture, which was released in 1969. In this movie he enacted the role
of a Muslim poet, Anwar Ali, who joins Maria, a native of Portuguese-occupied
Goa, along with other men to raise nationalist sentiment in that state.
The film sank without a trace at the box office.
However, Amitabh was noticed by veteran filmmaker Mrinal Sen, who used
his distinctive baritone voice for Bhuvan - the narrator in his much
applauded film "Bhuvan Shome". Amitabh's first big commercial
hit was "Anand" where he featured alongside Rajesh Khanna,
the superstar of Indian cinema. His performance as a doctor, who learns
to live life after treating a terminally ill patient, played by Rajesh,
earned him his first Filmfare Award for the Best Supporting Actor in
1970.
His first film in a lead role was Pyar Ki Kahani (1971). It was on
the sets of Ek Nazar (1972) that Amitabh and Jaya Bhaduri fell in love.
They married soon after.The couple have two children, daughter Shweta
and son Abhishek. Abhishek Bachchan has also entered the Bollywood film
industry. Now he is on top geer in his career.
Bachchan's career graph took an upward swing with the release of 'Zanjeer'
in 1973 which gave him the 'Angry young man' title and after that there
was no looking back. It was followed by "Sholay" (1975) -
in this classic cult movie he teamed up with Dharmendra. The movie went
on to become one of the top grossers in the history of Indian cinema,
and it was Amitabh who hugely benefited from its success.
After "Sholay" he gave numerous hits - "Deewaar"
(1975), "Trishul" (1978), "Kaala Patthar" (1979)
and "Shakti" (1982). These films further cemented his image
as an 'Angry Young Man'.In "Shakti" he starred opposite legendary
actor Dilip Kumar, the superstar of Indian cinema in the 50s and 60s.
The film was described as the "clash of the superstars" because
for the first time Amitabh and the legendary actor shared screen space
together. In fact, it was their first and last film together.
Action was Amitabh's forte but he also proved his mettle in successful
comedies like "Chupke Chupke" (1975), "Amar Akbar Anthony"
(1977), "Namak Halal" (1982) and "Satte Pe Satta"
(1982) among others.He also played romantic roles in "Kabhi Kabhie"
and "Silsila" which proved his versatility as an actor.
Bad luck struck Amitabh in 1982 while he was shooting for "Coolie".
He got seriously injured while filming a fight scene with Puneet Issar.
He was admitted to a hospital with a ruptured intestine and had to undergo
treatment for months. After recovering, Amitabh resumed the shooting
for "Coolie" and when it was finally released, it hit the
bull's eye at the box office.
During this period Amitabh decided to contest elections at the behest
of his close friend Rajiv Gandhi, the prime minister. He represented
the Congress Party from his hometown Allahabad and won with a thumping
majority. However, he resigned midterm because of controversies. Amitabh
regretted his decision to enter politics saying, "he was never
meant for it".After his brief stint in politics, he tried to stage
a comeback in films, but with no success. Many of his films, such as
"Jaadugar" and "Toofan" (1989) flopped. In the early
1990s he regained some success with "Hum" (1991) but failed
to sustain it.
Apart from flops, his health started troubling him and he decided to
take a break from the film industry and went on a long break in 1992.
His last film "Khuda Gawah" was released the same year.After
five years, in 1997, he made a second come back but for more than a
year success eluded him. He appeared in duds like "Mrityudaata"
produced by his production company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited,
"Major Saab" (1997), "Sooryavansham" (1999) and
"Lal Baadshah" (1999).
Critics ripped him apart saying he is still trying to cash in on his
'Angry Young Man' image. This was a dark period for the superstar. However,
the quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC), an Indian version
of the popular American game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
changed his luck. One of the biggest hit shows of small screen, KBC
opened new avenues for Amitabh in showbiz. Film offers soon started
pouring in and he featured in successful films like "Ek
Rishta" and "Kabhi
Khushi Kabhie Gham" - both came in 2001. After that he
appeared in quite a few films.
The most successful was Ravi Chopra's "Baghban
(2003)", about an old couple who sacrifices everything
for their four children. Hema Malini played his wife. They made a striking
pair and Chopra has cast them again in "Baabul".In 2005, he
featured in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's critically acclaimed film "Black"
(2004) . He played an alcoholic teacher to a deaf and blind
student played by Rani Mukerji. The movie won a string of awards and
fetched him all the popular awards.
Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma, who worked with him in "Sarkar"
(2005) and is now directing him in a sequel to the movie and
in the remake of "Sholay" sums up his contribution beautifully:
"Mr. Bachchan has reached a legendary status where he can never
be blamed for a film's failure." Recently, the audiences loved
him as Abhishek's flamboyant father in Karan Johar's multi-starrer extravaganza
"Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna"
(2006), which is about infidelity.
Apart from proving his mettle in Bollywood he is making his mark on
the global forum as well. In July the De Monfort University in Leicester
conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctorate of Arts. In fact,
he is the first Indian star to be awarded with a honorary doctorate
from a British university.
However, he refused to prefix "doctor" before his name saying:
"I respect the university for this recognition, but "Dr. Bachchan"
is a term that shall remain always with the memory of my father (Dr.
Harivansh Rai Bachchan). He was the true bearer of this title. I would
never ever acknowledge the 'use' of this abbreviation before my name."
Bachchan's sudden illness in 2005 had not only made his numerous fans
a worried lot but also put the Bollywood film industry on the edge -
which had a whopping Rs.2.7 billion at stake. In spite of all bad drops
he came back with full of life and he has some good films lined up for
release .
