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 the biggest star in the history of the Indian Film Industry, better known as Bollywood.

Biography

Bachchan was born in the city of Allahabad, India. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a well-known poet. The original last name of the family was "Srivastav"; "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, is still alive.

In a recent interview with Stardust magazine, Bachchan had this to say about his family background:

"We were born in Allahabad. Allahabad is a middle level town but extremely rich in all kinds of activities... My father came from a very Eastern background and my mother was very Western. She'd studied in a convent, she had an English nurse to look after her and she came from a very affluent house. There was a lot of difference in their cultures. My father is a Kayastha from U.P. My mother is from Punjab, Karachi. She's a Sikh. My father's a writer, a poet, man of letters. A stalwart. My mother, strong in her values, in her beliefs. And therefore, fortunately, I got a lovely blend of both the worlds, the east and west."

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 [http://www.rediff.com/movies/2001/oct/11amit.htm, 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.

He is also known as BIG B.

Early career

Bachchan's first film, Saat Hindustani – his only black-and-white film – was released in 1969. For his role, Bachchan was paid the meagre sum of 5,000 rupees. In the film, he played the part of one of seven protagonists; "Saat Hindustani" means "Seven Indians". Most people would have thought that his six co-stars were much more likely to achieve stardom than he was; they were all related to film-industry insiders, while he was a gangling outsider from the north.

Between 1969 and 1973, the date of his first real hit, Bachchan's career was stalled. He did win a FilmFare Award for "Best Supporting Actor" for his work in Anand, but this did not translate into the kind of fame that brought audiences into theatres just to see his face again.

Two 1973 films are said to have launched Bachchan as a star. 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, brought crowds to the theatres. Also in 1973, director Prakash Mehra cast Bachchan as Inspector Vijay Khanna in the film Zanjeer. He was not even the director's second choice: the role is said to have been offered to Dev Anand, who turned it down because of lack of songs for the main character (unheard of in those days). The film was based on the spaghetti western Death Rides A Horse starring Lee Van Cleef, and was a gritty cops-and-robbers melodrama which helped in the blossoming of Amitabh's personna as an "angry young man", cemented further by movies like Deewar, Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Shakti.

Zanjeer was a great success. 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 was one of his biggest hits. This time the writing team of "Salim-Javed" (Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan) made him the crook rather than the cop. However, he was a different kind of crook: a tough man who refuses to tolerate disrespect, dedicated to making it despite huge obstacles, but nonetheless a man with a heart, who loves his mother and stands up for the "little people" who are getting a raw deal from a corrupt establishment. 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.

In the same year he starred in one of Bollywood's biggest hits Sholay which also had Amjad Khan appear opposite him for the first time. Khan went on to play his nemesis in many more films.

In addition to being an "angry young man", he also become known for his comedy roles. One of his most popular characters was the genial, street-smart Anthony from the 1978 Amar Akbar Anthony.

Yash Chopra collaborated with him on many films such as Kabhie Kabhie, and Silsila, which showed that he could also convince in romantic roles too.

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. However, once he committed to a film, he did his best. He was, and is, known for his professionalism: he shows up on time, he redoes a scene as many times as necessary, and he is respectful of the rest of the cast and crew.

In 1982 he starred opposite legendary actor Dilip Kumar, who was the main superstar before him in the 50s and 60s, in Shakti where he played the son of Kumar's character. 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 1983, Bachchan was seriously injured while filming a fight scene alongside Puneet Issar. It was a ruptured intestine. He was in the hospital for months and at times was close to death. His fans were transfixed by the life-and-death drama. They came to give blood, they hung on the news bulletins, they visited temples and dargahs to pray for his recovery. After recovery Bachchan resumed the shooting for the film and it finally released and was an immense success.

The director, Mahmohan Desai, is said to have changed 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.

Later career

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 Ganga Jamna Saraswati (1988), Jaadugar and Toofan, both from 1989. In 1990 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". Bachchan dropped out of the film industry after 1992, his last film being Khuda Gawah, released that same year. His much delayed film Insaniyat which was due for release in 1991 was finally released in 1994, but it also failed at the box office.

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, Sooryavansham, and Laal Baadhshah 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.

Only two of his films 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.

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, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. 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. 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 more importantly re-affirmed his tremendous acting ability.

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 is also set to appear in a remake of his own 1975 blockbuster Sholay and will play the role of Gabbar Singh, a role that was made famous by Amjad Khan in the original.

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.

The tribute was an unprecedented honour for an Indian actor.

There was a time when one of the famous director of bollywood said that if the industry actor are rated, Amitabh Bachchan will be from number 1 to number 10. The other starts will follow from spot 11. He was voted as the "BBC Star of the millennium" and for the Big B fans he is better than all the hollywood actors put together.Not Surprisingly, even today Mr.Bachchan is the biggest superstar Bollywood has to offer and still, with one of the biggest fan following in the history of Indian Cinema.

Trivia

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. The man whose voice has long been considered one of his strongest on-screen assets ... was turned down.
He learned sign language for his 2005 film, Black.
In 2005 he worked in eleven films; this was the most he had done in a year throughout his whole career.
He has played a dual role or two roles in more films that any other actor in the Bollywood industry, including Adalat, Baandhe Haath, Desh Premee, Satte Pe Satta, Aakhree Raasta, The Great Gambler, Toofan, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Sooryavansham, Don and Laal 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.

Awards and honors

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 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.
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 will be 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

Filmography

References

External links

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