Amitabh Bachchan – Biography of Big B.

Last updated on August 14th, 2022 at 02:18 am

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

Amitabh Bachchan (born on 11th October 1942) is the son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, an Indian film actor and famous Hindi litterateur. He gained great popularity during the 1970s and has since become a prominent figure in the history of Indian cinema. Amitabh has won several awards in his career, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, three National Film Awards and twelve Filmfare Awards. He holds the record for the highest number of Best Actor Filmfare Awards. Apart from acting, Bachchan played as a film producer, playback singer, TV presenter and an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987. He has also played the role of host for many years in the popular Indian TV show “Kaun Banega Crorepati”. The ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ address made by him in this show was very popular.

Amitabh Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri and has two children, Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan. Abhishek Bachchan is a well-known actor, who is married to former Vishwasundari and actress Aishwarya Rai.

After the polio eradication campaign, Bachchan will now work on the Tobacco Prohibition Project. Amitabh Bachchan was appointed as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the HIV/AIDS and Polio Eradication Campaign in April 2005.

EARLY LIFE

Born in the Kayastha family, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh,Amitabh Bachchan’s father, Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a famous Hindi poet, while his mother Teji Bachchan belonged to the city of Karachi in undivided India which is now in Pakistan. The name Inquilab was taken from the inspirational phrase ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ used during the Indian freedom struggle. But later the famous Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant named him ‘Amitabh’. ‘Amitabh’ means “eternal light”. Although his surname was Srivastava and he belongs to the Kayastha caste, yet his father quoted this surname from the name of Bachchan who published his works. It is his surname with which he used in films and for all public purposes. Now it has become the surname of all the members of his family.

Amitabh is the eldest of 2 sons of Harivansh Rai Bachchan. Their second son’s name is Ajitabh. His mother Teji Bachchan had a keen interest in theater and was offered a role in the film, but she chose to be a housewife. His mother also had some contribution in the choice of Amitabh’s career as she always insisted that he should take center stage as his career. Bachchan’s father died in 2003 while his mother died on 21 December 2007.

Bachchan twice did M.A. has received the degree. Master of Arts (Post-Graduate) He studied at Gyan Prabodhini and Boys High School (BHS) in Allahabad and then at Sherwood College in Nainital where he was admitted to the Faculty of Arts. Amitabh later went to Delhi University’s Kirori Mal College to study where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. In his 20s, Bachchan quit his job as a hire broker at Bird & Company, a shipping firm in Kolkata, to pursue a career in acting.

On June 3, 1973, he married actress Jaya Bhaduri as per Bengali rites. Two children were born to this couple: daughter Shweta and son Abhishek.

Career: Early Work 1969-1972

Young Amitabh

Amitabh started his career in films as a cast member in the film Saat Hindustani, directed by Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, starring alongside Utpal Dutt, Madhu and Jalal Agha. The film was not a financial success, but Bachchan won the Best Newcomer at the National Film Awards for his debut film. This successful commercial and critically acclaimed film was followed by another film called Anand (1971) in which she worked with the then popular artist Rajesh Khanna. Bachchan, who played the role of Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee, treated a cancer patient, earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance due to his web-based approach to life and his approach to the reality of the country. Amitabh then played the role of a desperate lover in Parwana (1971) starring Naveen Nischal, Yogita Bali and Om Prakash, and filming him as a villain was a rare sight in itself.

After this, many of his films came which were not as successful at the box office including Reshma and Shera and in those days he made guest appearances in the film Guddi. He was accompanied by his wife Jaya Bhaduri and Dharmendra. Known for his loud voice, Amitabh Bachchan narrated part of the film Bawarchi early in his career. Directed in 1972 by S. Ramanathan Played a role in the comedy film Bombay to Goa directed by Ramanathan. He has worked with artists like Mehmood, Anwar Ali, Aruna Irani, and Nasir Hussain. During his struggling days, he stayed for a long period of 7 (seven) years in the house of actor, director and comedian Mahmud Sahib.

Rise to Stardom 1973 -1983

In 1973, when Prakash Mehra offered him the role of Inspector Vijay Khanna in his film Zanjeer (1973), this marked a turning point in his career progression. The film was a dig at the earlier romantic essence that saw Amitabh Bachchan in a new role as the Angry Youngman who became the action hero of Bollywood, a reputation he would later achieve in his films to follow. . It was his first film as a box office success that earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Actor.

1973 was the year when he married Jaya on 3rd June and during this time both of them not only appeared in Zanjeer but together in many films like Abhimaan which was released only a month after their marriage. Later, Vikram got the role in the film Namak Haram, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and written by Biresh Chatterjee, which showcased the essence of friendship. He was highly appreciated for his supporting role opposite Rajesh Khanna and Rekha and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

After playing a supporting role in the biggest films of 1974, Roti Kapda and Makaan, Bachchan made several guest appearances in several films such as Kunwara Baap and Dost. The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, which portrayed honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional struggles, was indeed a critical and commercial success and featured Manoj as a co-star with Amitabh in the lead role. Kumar himself and Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman. Bollywood films of 6 December 1974 | Bachchan played a leading role in the film Majboor, released in 1974. This film was made in imitation of the Hollywood film Zigzag starring George Kennedy, but it did not do much at the box office and in 1975 he made a comeback. From the film Chupke Chupke, to the crime film Faraar and the romance film Mili, he showed his acting skills.

However, 1975 was the year in which he acted in two films which are considered very important in the Hindi cinema world. He played the lead role in the film Deewar directed by Yash Chopra starring Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy and Neetu Singh and the film won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 1975, the film was a box office hit at number four and was also named in Indiatime’s Movies Top 25 All-Time Watching Bollywood Movies. Sholay released on 15 August 1975 and became the highest grossing film of all time in India earning Rs 2,36,45,00,000 which is equivalent to USD 60 million after adjusting for inflation. Huh. Bachchan played the role of Jaidev alongside some of the industry’s top actors such as Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bachchan and Amjad Khan.

In 1999, BBC India named the film the film of the century and, like Deewar, included it in Indiatime’s Movies Top 25 Bollywood Movies. In the same year, the judges of the 50th Annual Filmfare Awards presented a special award called the Filmfare Award for Best Film of 50 Years. After the tremendous success of films like Sholay at the box office, Bachchan had cemented his position by now, and from 1976 to 1984, he received several Filmfare Best Actor Awards and other awards and acclaim. Although films like Sholay had already cemented his status as a legendary action hero in Bollywood, Bachchan pointed out that he also adapts himself to other roles and leads in romance films like never before. Kabhi (1976) and comedy films such as Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and earlier also in Chupke Chupke (1975). In 1976, he was signed by Yash Chopra in his second film, Kabhi Kabhie, another romance film, in which Bachchan played a young poet named Amit Malhotra who was married to a young girl named Pooja, played by Rakhi Gulzar. Love happens.

The emotional fervor and tenderness of this conversation drew a direct comparison to some of Amitabh’s earlier action films and those he was to do later. The film nominated him for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and was a success at the box office. In 1977, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony. In this film, he had a third leading role as Anthony Gonsalves alongside Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor. 1978 was probably the most commendable year of his life, and he starred in four of the highest-grossing films of the time in India.

He once again played a double role as Amit and Shankar in films like Kasme Vaade and as the underworld gang and its lookalike Vijay in Don. His performance won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and his critics in films like Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. His performance was praised and he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for both these films. Due to this unexpected run and success at this stage in his career, he was named one man industry by a director named Française Truffaut.

For the first time in 1979, Amitabh had to use his voice to sing a song while working with his co-star Rekha for a film titled Mr. Natwarlal. He received the Best Actor Award for Best Male Playback Singer for his performance in the film. In 1979, he was nominated for Best Actor in Kala Patthar (1979) and was subsequently nominated again in the 1980 film Dostana, directed by Rajkhosla, co-starring Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. Dostana proved to be the top film of the year 1980. In 1981, he acted in Yash Chopra’s drama film Silsila, co-starring his wife Jaya and rumored girlfriend Rekha. Other films of this era included films such as Ram Balram (1980), Shaan (1980), Laawaris (1981) and Shakti (1982), which drew comparisons to actors such as Dilip Kumar.

Injury during the shooting of Coolie in 1982

In the 1982 film Coolie, Bachchan nearly injured his intestines while shooting for a fight with his co-star Puneet Issar. Bachchan had taken the liberty to do stunts on his own in this film, in which he had to fall on the table and then fall on the ground. However, as soon as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table hit his stomach, injuring his intestines and bleeding profusely from his body. He was taken from the ship to the hospital for treatment of foreign splenectomy and there he remained hospitalized for several months and many times died on his way to death. Rumors also spread that he had died in an accident and huge crowds of his fans gathered across the country to pray for his protection.

The news of this accident spread far and wide and started appearing in the headlines of UK newspapers, which would have never been heard of. Many Indians offered prayers in temples and offered their organs to save them, and later miles long queues of their loved ones could be seen outside the hospital where they were being treated. Nevertheless, he took several months to recover and at the end of that year started working again after a long time. The film was released in 1983 and was a box office success, partly due to the immense publicity of Bachchan’s Accident.

Director Manmohan Desai changed the ending of the film after Bachchan’s accident in the film Coolie. Bachchan’s character was actually supposed to die in this film but was shown to be alive at the end after changes in the script. Desai had said about them that it would be absolutely inappropriate for such a man to say that the one who lives by fighting to death in real life, should be taken by death on the screen. In this release, the end of the first scene was stopped at a complicated juncture and a caption began to appear beneath it, alluding to the actor’s injury and ensuring the publicity of the accident.

Later, he became confused with myasthenia gravis, which was either due to an accident in the porter, due to taking heavy drugs or due to extra blood given to him from outside. His illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to take a permanent break from working in films and join politics. It was at this time that his pessimistic view of his film career was born, and he was concerned about the response to a new film that was released every Friday. Before each release, he used to reply in a negative attitude that this film will be a flop.

Politics : 1984-1987

In 1984, Amitabh took a brief sabbatical from acting and plunged into politics in support of his old friend Rajiv Gandhi. He defeated Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from Allahabad Lok Sabha seat, registering victory by a margin of (68.2%) in the history of general elections. Although his political career was only for a short period, after three years he left without completing his political term. Behind this resignation, his brother’s name was to appear in the newspaper in the Bofors dispute, for which he had to go to court. Bachchan was found not guilty in this case.

His old friend Amar Singh helped him during the financial crisis due to the failure of his company ABCL. After this, Bachchan started supporting Amar Singh’s political party, the Samajwadi Party. Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and became a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Bachchan continued to extend his support for the Samajwadi Party, which included political campaigns. His activities again landed him in trouble and he had to go to court to submit legal papers regarding false claims that he was a farmer.

There are very few people who know that Amitabh Bachchan was banned by the self-styled press. Stardust and some other magazines joined together to form a consortium, in which Amitabh was banned for 15 years while he was at the helm. He decided not to publish anything about Amitabh in his publications. By the end of 1989, Bachchan had banned the entry of the press on their sets. But, he was not against any particular magazine. It has been said that Bachchan had banned some magazines because he did not like what was published about him in them and because of this he had to exercise his privilege once to comply. .

Reasons for Recession and Retirement : 1988 -1992

In 1988, Bachchan returned to films after a short political stint of three years and played the title role in Shahenshah which was a box office success due to Bachchan’s return. After this comeback film, his star power waned as all his upcoming films failed at the box office. The 1991 hit film Hum Se seemed like it would change the current trend, but due to their continuous failure at the box office, this sequence of success was short-lived. Notably, despite the lack of hits, this was the time when Amitabh Bachchan won the National Film Award for his memorable role as a mafia don in the 1990 film Agneepath. It seemed that these years would now be his last years as he would now be seen on screen only for a short time. In 1994, one of the few films of his late release, the film Insanyat was released but failed at the box office.

Producer and acting return 1996 -1999

During the period of temporary retirement, Bachchan became a producer and established Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited. (ABCL) dreamed of becoming a 10 billion rupees (approximately 250 million US dollars) entertainment company in 1996 by the year 2000. ABCL’s strategy was to introduce products and services to all segments of the entertainment industry in India. Its operations included mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio and video cassette discs, production and marketing of television software, celebrity and event management. Tere Mere Sapne was the first film produced by the company soon after the company’s inception in 1996 which failed at the box office but opened doors for the careers of actors like Arshad Warsi South and super star Simran of the films. ABCL made some films but none of these films could do wonders.

In 1997, Bachchan attempted to return to his acting career with the film Mritydata, produced by ABCL. Although Mrutyataataa tried to bring back Bachchan’s former action hero image, the film was an ABCL venture, and the failure was financially dire for both. ABCL was the major sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant held in Bangalore in 1997, and lost crores of rupees due to its poor management. This development and the legal battles around ABCL and the various alliances in the program resulted in the fact that ABCL overpaid most of its high level managers, causing it to collapse both financially and operationally in 1997. Went. The company fell into the hands of the administration and was later declared a failure by the Indian Chamber of Industry. In April 1999, the Bombay High Court restrained Bachchan from selling his Mumbai bungalow Pratiksha and two flats until the case for refund of Canara Bank money was decided. Bachchan, however, argued that he has mortgaged his bungalow with Sahara India Finance to raise funds for his company.

Bachchan later tried to revive his acting career with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) with average success and Sooryavansham (1999), receiving positive reviews, but it was assumed that Bachchan’s glory days were now over. Since all his other films like Laal Badshah (1999) and Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999) have failed at the box office.

Television career

Amitabh Bachchan at the press conference of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati-5’
In the year 2000, Amitabh Bachchan made the move to adapt the British television show Khel, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, in India. Titled Kaun Banega Crorepati, as it mostly played in other countries, the program was an immediate and overwhelming success, with Bachchan’s charisma contributing in a small way. It is believed that Bachchan took an exorbitant amount of 25 lakh rupees (US$2.5 million, approximately US$60,000) for the weekly episode to conduct the program, which cost Bachchan and his family both morally and financially. Got strength. Earlier, Amitabh had suffered deep setbacks after ABCL failed miserably. In November 2000, Canara Bank also withdrew its case against him. Bachchan hosted KBC till November 2005 and its success reopened his doors to the film’s popularity.

Returned to Power : 2000 – Present

He returned to the screen in Mohabbatein (2000) as a co-star opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

Pratibha Devisingh Patil won the Filmfare Award for Best Film Actor for the year 2005 for her performance in the Hindi film Black.
In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan regained his lost respect when he played a stern role in the character of India’s current geek, Shah Rukh Khan, in Yash Chopra’s super hit film Mohabbatein, directed by Aditya Chopra. Viewers praised Bachchan’s work, as he portrayed a character who was the same age as his own and resembled a young man in his former Angry Youngman image (which is no longer there). His other successful films include Ek Rishta: The Bond of Love (2001), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and Baghban (2003) with Bachchan appearing as the patriarch of a large family. As an actor, he continued to play characters that matched his profile and was credited for films such as Aks (2001), Aankhen (2002), Khaki (2004), Dev (2004) and Black (2005). It also received critical acclaim.

Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh started working on promoting a variety of products and services by appearing in numerous television and billboard commercials. In 2005 and 2006, she starred with her son Abhishek in such hits as Bunty Aur Babli (2005), The Godfather Tribute Sarkar (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006). All these films were highly successful at the box office. His films Babul (2006), released in 2006 and early 2007, and Eklavya, Nishabd|Nishabd (2007) were unsuccessful at the box office but received critical acclaim for their performances in each. He made a guest appearance in the Kannada film Amritadhara directed by Chandrasekhar Nagathahalli.

In May 2007, his two films, Cheeni Kum and the multi-starrer Shootout at Lokhandwala, released at the box office and was declared a hit in India and Cheeni Kum started off slow and averaged an overall hit. got the status.

In August 2007, a remake of the (1975) biggest hit film Sholay was made and released under the title Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. In this, he played the villainous role of Babban Singh (originally known as Gabbar Singh, originally played by late actor Amjad Khan in 1975. The film was a huge failure at the box office and was strongly condemned by critics.

His first English-language film Rituparna Ghosh The Last Year premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2007. It has received positive reviews from its critics, who have lauded Blake as his best performance ever since.

Bachchan is going to play a supporting role in the film titled Shantaram and directed by Mira Nair, which stars Hollywood actor Johnny Depp. Filming for the film was to begin in February 2008, but due to a writer’s strike, the film was postponed to September 2008.

On 9 May 2008, he played the title role as Bhoot in the film Bhootnath (film) which was released. His latest film, Sarkar Raj, released in June 2008, is a sequel to his 2005 film Sarkar.