Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (/ /;
Hindi: अमिताभ बच्चन,
Urdu: اَمِتابھ بچّن) born
October 11 1942 is an
Indian
film actor who was named Superstar of the Millennium by the
BBC. He is arguably one of the biggest star in the history of the Indian film industry, particularly the Mumbai based Hindi language film industry, better known as
Bollywood.
Bachchan was born in the city of
Allahabad, India. His father,
Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a well-known poet of
Urdu and
Hindi. The original last name of the family was "
Srivastava"; "Bachchan" was in fact a
pen name used by his father. However, when Bachchan entered films he did so under his father's pen name. Now he is never known as anything but Amitabh Bachchan. His immediate family has also adopted the Bachchan surname. His mother, Teji Bachchan, ethinically
Punjabi, is still alive.
Bachchan attended
Allahabad's Boys' High School, followed by
Nainital's
Sherwood College, where he gained a degree in art. He later went on to study at Kirori Mal College in Delhi University earning a degree in science. When he was in his twenties, Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co., based in
Kolkata, to pursue a career in acting.
He is married to actress
Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan). The couple have two children: daughter
Shweta and son Abhishek.
Abhishek Bachchan has also entered the
Bollywood film industry.
Bachchan is said to have met Jaya Bhaduri at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) at
Pune[
1], [
2], though there is no evidence to suggest that he was ever enrolled there as a student.
In 1984, Bachchan briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend
Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's Parliament seat against H. N. Bahuguna, a well-known politician, and won by a large margin (68.2% of the vote).
His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after only three years, not finishing his term. At the time of his resignation, it was rumoured that he might have been involved in the
Bofors Scandal. Bachchan was not implicated in the case, and has since distanced himself from the Gandhi family. He denies that the two events were connected, commenting that he "should have never got into politics".
He is a close friend of Samajwadi Party Leader
Amar Singh.
He has two grandchildren: Navya Naveli and Agastya Nanda.
In November 2005, Bachchan was admitted to India's Lilavati Hospital, in order to undergo surgery on his intestine. The procedure came after Bachchan complained of pain in his abdomen, and the issue is said to have been related to a 1983 injury. After the operation, Bachchan took several months off from work, unable to leave his home even to shoot the sequel to his recently-launched television program,
Kaun Banega Crorepati 2. By April 2006 Bachchan had resumed shooting for most of his projects.
Bachchan's first film,
Saat Hindustani, his only black-and-white film – was released in
1969.
Between
1969 and
1973, the date of his first film, Bachchan's career was stalled. He appeared in films such as
Reshma Aur Shera where he played a mute man (1971),
Parwana (1971) where he played a psycopath but these films did not establish him as a superstar. However he did win a FilmFare Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for his work in
Anand in
1970 but this did not translate into the kind of fame that would bring large audiences to see his films.
Two 1973 film launched Bachchan as a superstar. In
Abhimaan, he played a singer who succumbs to jealousy (The role might have been inspired by the
Barbra Streisand movie
A Star is Born). A strong score by music director
S.D. Burman and real chemistry with his co-star (and later, wife) Jaya Badhuri established him as a talented actor.
Also in 1973, director
Prakash Mehra cast Bachchan as Inspector Vijay Khanna in the film
Zanjeer. The film was a gritty cops-and-robbers melodrama which helped in the blossoming of Amitabh's personna as an "angry young man". Zanjeer was the first major hit of Bachchan's career and after that, Bachchan's name on the marquee could be counted on to pull crowds into the theaters; he had at least one major hit every year for the next decade.
The 1975 film
Deewaar directed by
Yash Chopra was one of his first films showing him once again in an "angry young man" persona. This time the writing team of "Salim-Javed" (
Javed Akhtar and
Salim Khan) made him the crook rather than the cop.. The film premiered just as the Indian Prime Minister,
Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency and assumed dictatorial powers. Bachchan stood for revolt against corruption, and his popularity soared. His "angry young man" image was cemented further by movies like
Trishul (1976),
Kaala Patthar (1979) and
Shakti (1982).
In the same year he starred in
Sholay which was a
Spaghetti Western style film in which Bachchan played an action role.
Sholay became one of the highest grossing films in Indian Cinema history and the biggest hit of Bachchan's career.
In addition to being an "angry young man", he also become known for his comedy roles in films such as
Chupke Chupke (1975),
Amar Akbar Anthony (1978),
Naseeb (1980) and
Yash Chopra known for making romantic films collaborated with once again after
Deewar and this time Bachchan played romantic roles him in
Kabhie Kabhie (1976) and
Silsila (1982) which showed his versitility. After this he often did films which required action, romance, comedy and drama all rolled into one character.
Bachchan appeared in many other great films during the 70s and 80s, often filming them concurrently, as is still Bollywood practice. He was not at all selective in his choice of films; he appeared in many mediocre films too, which failed to perform at the box office.
In 1982 he starred opposite legendary actor
Dilip Kumar in
Shakti. Dilip Kumar was the main superstar before him in the 50s and 60s who had won fame for tragic roles. This film was described as the clash of the superstars as it marked the first and only time Bachchan and Kumar appeared a film together.
While filming
Coolie in 1982, Bachchan was seriously injured while filming a fight scene alongside
Puneet Issar causing a ruptured intestine. He was in the hospital for months and at one point was declared clinically dead. After recovery Bachchan resumed the shooting for the film and it finally released and was an immense success.
The director,
Mahmohan Desai altered the ending for
Coolie after Bachchan's accident. Bachchan's character was originally intended to have been killed off but after the change of script, the character lived in the end. It would have been inappropriate, said Desai, for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen as well.
During the late 1980s, after his brief stint in politics, Bachchan's films became less and less successful. Many films did very poorly, such as
Jaadugar and
Toofan, both from
1989. In the early
1990s he regained some success with his power-packed performance in
Agneepath and the following year in
Hum which was a huge hit.
Hum was mainly a hit because of its use of a popular song, "Jumma Chumma". However after more flops at the box office he took a break fron the film industry after
1992, his last film being
Khuda Gawah, released that same year.
He returned to films in
1997, but hits still eluded him. His first comeback vehicle,
Mrityudaata produced by his own production company ABCL, was a box-office disaster. Most of his subsequent films, such as
Major Saab (1997),
Sooryavansham (1999), and
Lal Baadshah (1999) also failed at the box office. Critics complained that Bachchan was still playing the "angry young man" even though he was in his mid-fifties. He was no longer convincing. He was also deeply in debt as a result of the failures of the films produced by his company ABCL such as
Tere Mere Sapne.
Only two of his films since his comeback succeeded: the
1998 comedy
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (an unapologetic rip-off of the
Sanjeev Kumar starrer,
Angoor (grapes)) in which he starred with
Govinda and
2000's
Mohabbatein, which co-starred
Shah Rukh Khan. In both cases, critics said that the films succeeded because of the co-star, not because of Bachchan.
|
Amitabh Bachchan's return as a superstar |
Bachchan then accepted an offer to host an Indian version of the popular British gameshow,
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, or
Kaun Banega Crorepati? The show was a hit, as was his appearance as a stern patriarch in
Ek Rishta (2001) and
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). Both films did well at the box office and finally, Bachchan was conceded to have regained much of his old magic.
He has since appeared in a number of films each year, often in unconventional or supporting roles such as playing elderly father roles. He has been praised for his performances in films such as
Aks (2001),
Aankhen (2002),
Baghban (2003),
Khakee (2004), and
Dev (2004). However not all of these films have been hits. Critics say that this is a resurgence of his old problem, lack of selectivity and overexposure.
In 2005, he appeared in the film
Black, in which he played the teacher of a
deaf and
blind woman played by
Rani Mukherjee went on to be a huge hit and won him an award for Best Actor.
In the same year he co-starred with his son Abhishek in the films
Bunty Aur Babli and
Sarkar both of which were hits at the box office. He is once again appearing with Abhishek in the forthcoming
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna which releases in
2006.
*He has not made a public appearance without his
goatee since
Mohabbatein, although in
Khakee and
Lakshya the goatee was reduced to a moustache; he grew it back as soon as the films finished post-production.
*His parents initially planned to name him "Inquilaab", which means "Revolution".
*He is ambidextrous, though on-screen he is most often seen using his left hand.
*He once burned his hand badly while lighting a firecracker. For this reason, he kept the hand concealed throughout much of the filming of
Sharaabi. Most viewers took this to be an artistic "statement".
*Before entering the film industry, Bachchan applied for a job with
All India Radio. He was turned down, because of his voice..
*He learned sign language for his 2005 film,
Black.
*He has played a
dual role in more films that any other actor in the Bollywood industry, including
Adalat,
Bandhe Haath,
Desh Premee,
Satte Pe Satta,
Aakhree Raasta,
The Great Gambler,
Toofan,
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan,
Sooryavansham,
Don and
Lal Baadshah. He also played a triple role in
Mahaan.
* While filming the movie
Aks, he jumped from a height of 30 feet at the age of 58 along with co-star
Manoj Bajpai when he was required to jump down a waterfall during a fight scene.
*The Walter Reade Theater of Lincoln Center in New York hosted a special tribute to Bachchan, showing many of his popular films. Although most of the shows did not sell out (
Amar Akbar Anthony was a rare exception), the tribute also included "An Evening with Amitabh Bachchan", hosted at the Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The event included a live appearance by Bachchan. Tickets were priced at $60.00 per seat and sold out days in advance
* Bachchan has received the
Padma Shri (1983) and
Padma Bhushan (2005) civilian honours from the
Indian government.
* In 1990, he won the National Award for his portrayal of an underworld don in
Agneepath.
* He has won fourteen
Filmfare Awards in various categories. He recently HAD won the 2006
Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role in the film
Black.
* He and
Dilip Kumar are the only stars to win Best Actor awards in three separate decades.
* In 1999, he was named
BBC Superstar of the Millennium [
3].
* In a poll conducted by Channel 4 Film he was voted the "92nd Greatest Movie Star of All Time". Bachchan is the only Indian actor on the list, which is dominated by American actors.
* He is the first Indian actor to have been immortalised in wax at
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in
London.
* Bachchan has been conferred with an honorary degree of Doctorate of Arts by
De Montfort University in
Leicester,
UK on July 19, 2006 in recognition of his distinguished career in films. Former South African President
Nelson Mandela was the last person to get such a recognition from the university for his charitable work.
