Amitabh

Amitabh bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan born on 11 October 1942 is an Indian actor. He first
gained his popularity in the early 1970s as the ‘angry young man’ of
Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in an
career spanning more than 4 decades. He is regarded as one of the
greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema.
Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including four
national film awards, three of which are in the best actor category, and
fourteen Film fare awards. He is the most nominated performer in any
major acting category at Film fare, with 37 nominations overall. In
addition to acting, he has worked as a playback singer, film-producer and
television-presenter. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s. He has
received both the Padma Shree and the Padma Bhushan civilian awards
from the Indian government.

CAREER
 Early work: 1969–1972
 Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal
Sen's National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome. Thereafter he got his
first acting role as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani, a
film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal
Dutt, Madhu and Jalal Agha. Though the film was not a financial
success, Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best
Newcomer.
 Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna.
Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him his
first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. He then played his first
negative role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in Parwaana(1971).
This was followed by several films including Reshma Aur Shera (1971).
During this time, he made a guest appearance in the filmGuddi which
starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri. He narrated part of the
film Bawarchi. In 1972, he made an appearance in the road action
comedy Bombay to Goa, directed by S. Ramanathan. Many of his films
during this early period did not do well, but that was about to change.

EARLY LIFE

 Bachban was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His
father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a Hindi poet, and his
mother, Teji Bachchan, was a Sikh from Faisalabad (now
in Pakistan). Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab,
inspired from the famous phrase Inquilab Zindabad, during
the Indian independence struggle. However, at the
suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh
Rai changed the name to Amitabh which means, "the light
that would never go off." Though his surname
was Shrivastava, his father had adopted the pen-name
Bachchan (meaning child-like in colloquial Hindi), under
which he published all his works. It is with this last name that
Amitabh debuted in films, and, for all public purposes, it has
become the surname of all members of his family.
Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007.

 Amitabh is the eldest of Harivansh Rai Bachchan's two
sons, the second being Ajitabh. His mother had a keen interest
in theatre and had been offered a role in a film, but preferred
her domestic duties. She had some degree of influence in
Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that
he should take the centre stage. He
attended Allahabad's Jnana Prabodhini and Boys' High
School(BHS), followed by Nainital's Sherwood College, where
he majored in the art stream. He later went on to study at Kirori
Mal College of the University of Delhi and completed
a Bachelor of Science degree. In his twenties, Bachchan gave
up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co.,
based in Calcutta now known as Kolkata, to pursue a career in
acting.

 Rise to stardom: 1973–1983

 Director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the
film Zanjeer (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp
contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded
it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the "angry young man"
of Bollywood cinema.He earned a Filmfare nomination for Best Actor.
Filmfare considers this one of the iconic performances of Bollywood
history. The year 1973 was also when he married Jaya, and around
this time they appeared in several films together; not only
in Zanjeer but in films such as Abhimaan which followed and was
released only a month after their marriage. Later, Bachchan played
the role of Vikram in the film Namak Haraam, a social drama directed
by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee
addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role won him his
second Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

 In 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such
as Kunwara Baap and Dost, before playing a supporting role
in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. The film, directed and written by Manoj
Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression
and financial and emotional hardship. Bachchan then played the
leading role in film Majboor, released on 6 December 1974, which
was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag. The film was only a
moderate success at the box office. In 1975, he starred in a variety
of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke, the crime
drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili. 1975 was the year when
he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi
cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed
film Deewaar, opposite Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu
Singh, which earned him a Film fare Nomination for Best Actor.
The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at
number 4. India times Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25
Must See Bollywood Films. Released on 15 August 1975
was Sholay (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing
film of all time in India, earning INR2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to
US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation Bachchan played the

role of Jaidev.

 Bachchan starred in comedies such as Chupke Chupke (1975)
and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and in films such as Kabhie
Kabhie(1976). In 1976, he was once again cast by director Yash
Chopra in his second film, Kabhi Kabhie, a romantic tale in which
Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls
deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja played by
actressRakhee Gulzar. The film saw him again nominated for the
Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 1977, he won his first Filmfare Best
Actor Award for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony where he
played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as
Anthony Gonsalves. In 1978 he starred in all four of the highest
grossing films of India in that year. He once again resumed double
roles in films such as Kasme Vaade as Amit and Shankar
and Don playing the characters of Don, a leader of an underworld
gang and his look alike Vijay. His performance won him his
second Filmfare Best Actor Award. He also performed
in Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikandarwhich both earned him
further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. He was billed a "one-man
industry" by the French director François Truffaut.

 In 1979, for the first time, Amitabh was required to use his
singing voice for the film Mr. Natwarlal in which he starred
alongside Rekha. His performance in the film saw him
nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and
the Filmfare Best Male Playback Awards. In 1979, he also
received Best Actor nomination for Kaala Patthar (1979) and
then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj
Khosla directed film Dostana, in which he starred
opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. Dostana proved
to be the top grossing film of 1980. In 1981, he starred in Yash
Chopra's melodrama film Silsila, where he starred alongside his
wife Jaya and rumoured lover Rekha. Other films of this period
include Ram Balram (1980), Shaan (1980), Lawaaris (1981),
and Shakti (1982) which pitted him against legendary actor Dilip
Kumar.

1982 injury while filming Coolie

 On 26 July 1982, while filming Coolie in the University Campus in
Bangalore, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the
filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. Bachchan was
performing his own stunts in the film and one scene required him to fall
onto a table and then on the ground. However as he jumped towards
the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in
a splenic rupture from which he lost a significant amount of blood. He
required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in
hospital for many months, at times close to death. The public response
included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him,
while later, there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the
hospital where he was recuperating. Nevertheless, he spent many
months recovering and resumed filming later that year after a long
period of recuperation. The film was released in 1983, and partly due
to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, the film was a box office
success.

 The director, Manmohan Desai, altered the ending
of 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. Also, in the
released film the footage of the fight scene is frozen at the
critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking
this as the instant of the actor's injury and the ensuing
publicity of the accident.
 Later, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis. His illness
made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he
decided to quit films and venture into politics. At this time he
became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film
would be received and stated before every release, "Yeh film
to flop hogi!" ("This film will flop").

Politics: 1984–87

 In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and
briefly entered politics in support of long-time family
friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's seat
of 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna,
former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by
one of the highest victory margins in general election
history (68.2% of the vote).[23] His political career,
however, was short-lived: he resigned after three
years, calling politics a cesspool. The resignation
followed the implication of Bachchan and his brother
in the "Bofors scandal" by a newspaper, which he
vowed to take to court. Bachchan was eventually
found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.

 His old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during a
financial crisis due to the failure of his company
ABCL. Therefore Bachchan started to support Amar
Singh's political party, the Samajwadi party. Jaya
Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and became
a Rajya Sabhamember. Bachchan has continued to
do favors for the Samajwadi party, including
advertisements and political campaigns. These
activities have recently gotten him into trouble again
in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous
incident of submission of legal papers by him,
stating that he is a farmer.
 A 15 year press ban against Bachchan was imposed
during his peak acting years by Stardust and some of
the other film magazines. In his own defense,
Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from
entering his sets until late 1989.

Slump and retirement: 1988–1992

 In 1988, Bachchan returned to films, playing the title role
in Shahenshah, which was a box office success due to the hype of
Bachchan's comeback. After the success of his comeback film
however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent
films failed at the box office. The 1991 hit film, Hum, for which he
won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award, looked like it might
reverse this trend, but the momentum was short-lived as his
string of box office failures continued. Notably, despite the lack
of hits, it was during this period that Bachchan won his
first National Film Award for Best Actor, for his performance as a
Mafia don in the 1990 filmAgneepath. These years would be the
last he would be seen on screen for some time. After the release
of Khuda Gawah in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for
five years. In 1994, one of his delayed films Insaniyat was
released but was also a box office failure.

Producer and acting comeback
1996–99
 Bachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement
period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd.
(A.B.C.L.) in 1996, with the vision of becoming a 10 billion
rupees (approx 250 million $US) premier entertainment
company by the year 2000. ABCL's strategy was to
introduce products and services covering the entire section
of the India's entertainment industry. Its operations were
mainstream commercial film production and distribution,
audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing
of television software, celebrity and event management.
Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film
was produced by the company. Tere Mere Sapne failed to do
well at the box office but launched the careers of actors such
as Arshad Warsi and South films star Simran. ABCL
produced a few other films, none of which did well.

Return to prominence: 2000–
present

 In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-
office hit, Mohabbatein, directed by Aditya Chopra. He
played a stern, older figure that rivaled the character
of Shahrukh Khan. His role won him his third Filmfare Best
Supporting Actor Award. Other hits followed, with Bachchan
appearing as an older family patriarch in Ek Rishtaa: The
Bond of Love(2001), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001)
and Baghban (2003). As an actor, he continued to perform in
a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his
performances in Aks
(2001), Aankhen (2002), Khakee (2004) and Dev (2004).
One project that did particularly well for Bachchan
was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black (2005). The film starred
Bachchan as an aging teacher of a deaf-blind girl and
followed their relationship. His performance was
unanimously praised by critics and audiences and won him
his second National Film Award for Best Actor and
fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award

Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began
endorsing a variety of products and services, appearing in
many television and billboard advertisements. In 2005 and
2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit films Bunty
Aur Babli (2005), the Godfather tribute Sarkar (2005),
and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006). All of them were
successful at the box office. His later releases in 2006 and
early 2007 were Baabul (2006),
Ekalavya and Nishabd (2007), which failed to do well at the
box office but his performances in each of them were praised
by critics.

In May 2007, two of his films Cheeni Kum and the multi-
starrer Shootout at Lokhandwala were released. Shootout at
Lokhandwala did very well at the box office and was declared a hit in
India, while Cheeni Kum picked up after a slow start and only had
average success. A remake of his biggest hit, Sholay (1975),
entitled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, released in August of that same
year and proved to be a major commercial failure in addition to its poor
critical reception. The year also marked Bachchan's first appearance in
an English-language film, Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear. The film
premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on 9
September 2007. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed
his performance as his best ever since Black. Bachchan was slated to
play a supporting role in his first international film, Shantaram, directed
by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Deppin the lead.

The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the
writer's strike, was pushed to September 2008. The film is currently
"shelved" indefinitely. Vivek Sharma's Bhoothnath, in which he plays
the title role as a ghost, was released on 9 May 2008. Sarkar Raj, the
sequel of the 2005 film Sarkar, released in June 2008 and received a
positive response at the box-office. Paa, which released at the end of
2009 was a highly anticipated project as it saw him playing his own son
Abhishek's Progeria-affected 13-year-old son, and it opened to
favorable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance. It won
him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best
Actor Award. In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through Kandahar,
directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal.[40] The film was based
on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814. Bachchan did
not receive any remuneration for this film.

Television career
In the year 2000, Bachchan stepped up to host India's adaptation of
the British television game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
entitled, Kaun Banega Crorepati. As it did in most other countries
where it was adopted, the program found immediate success. He has
hosted all but one of the seasons of the show. Canara Bank withdrew
its law suit against Bachchan in November 2000. Bachchan
hosted KBC till November 2005, when he fell ill. At that time he was
admitted to Lilavati Hospital's ICU once more, to undergo surgery
for diverticulitis of the small intestine. During the period and that
following his recovery, most of his projects were put on hold,
including KBC. He has hosted all but one season of the show. Its
success set the stage for his return to film popularity. In 2009 Oscar
winning movie Slumdog Millionaire in the first question of Who Wants
to be a Millionaire? contest "Amitabh Bachchan" was the correct
answer to the question "Who was the star of Zanjeer? Feroz Abbas
Khan performed as Amitabh Bachchan in a scene in the movie
while Anil Kapoor performed as the host of the contest. Bachchan
hosted the third season of the reality show Bigg Boss in 2009.

Voice

Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a
narrator, a playback singer and presenter for numerous programmes.
Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with
Bachchan's voice, that he decided to use his voice as commentary
in Shatranj Ke Khilari since he could not find a suitable role for him. In
2005, Bachchan has lent his voice to the Oscar-winning French
documentary March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet.

Controversies and criticism
Barabanki land case
In the runup to the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, 2007,
Bachchan made a film extolling the virtues of the Mulayam Singh
government. His Samajwadi Party was routed, and Mayawati came to
power.
On 2 June 2007 a Faizabad court ruled that he had legally acquired
agricultural land designated specifically for landless Dalit farmers.It
was speculated that he might be investigated on related charges
of forgery, as he has allegedly claimed he was a farmer. On 19 July
2007, after the scandal broke out, Bachchan surrendered the land
acquired in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh and Pune. He wrote to the
chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, to donate the
lands that were allegedly acquired illegally in Pune. However, the
Lucknow Court has put a stay on the land donation and said that the
status quo on the land be maintained.

 On 12 October 2007, Bachchan abandoned his claim in
respect of the land at Daulatpur village in Barabanki
district. On 11 December 2007, the Lucknow bench of
the Allahabad High Court gave a clean chit to
Bachchan in a case pertaining to alleged fraudulent
allotment of government land to him in Barabanki
district. A single Lucknow bench of Justice said there
was no finding that the actor "himself committed any
fraud or manipulated any surreptitious entry in the
revenue records".
 After receiving a positive verdict in Barabanki case,
Amitabh Bachchan intimated to Maharashtra
government that he did not wish to surrender his land in
Maval tehsil of Pune district.

 In January 2008 at political rallies, Raj
Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena, targeted Amitabh Bachchan, asserting
that the actor was "more inclined" towards his
native state than Maharashtra. He expressed his
disapproval of Amitabh's inaugurating a girls'
school named after his daughter-in-law,
actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,
at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in
Maharashtra. According to media reports, Raj's
censure of Amitabh, whom he admires, stemmed
out of his disappointment of not being invited to
Amitabh's son Abhishek's marriage to
Aishwarya, despite invitations to his estranged
uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.

 Responding to Raj's accusations, the actor's
wife, SP MP Jaya Bachchan, said that the
Bachchans were willing to start a school in
Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the
land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that
Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in
Maharashtra, in Mumbai—Kohinoor Mills. If he is
willing to donate land, we can start a school in
the name of Aishwarya here." Raj responded to
it saying, "Jaya Bachchan claims she does not
know me then how come she knows how much
property I own?". Amitabh abstained from
commenting on the issue. However, he
apologized to Raj for controversial remarks from
Jaya in some other incidence. "

 Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, stating, "Amitabh
Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love
for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many
occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra
and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and
affection. He has also said that what he is today is
because of the love people have given him. The people
of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an
artiste. It was utter foolishness to make these parochial
allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar.
People all over the world respect him. This cannot be
forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly
accusations and concentrate on his acting."

 On 23 March 2008, more than a month and
half after Raj's remarks, Amitabh finally
spoke out in an interview to a local tabloid
saying, "Random charges are random; they
do not deserve the kind of attention you wish
me to give.“ Later, on 28 March at a press
conference for the International Indian Film
Academy, when asked what his take was on
the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is
one's fundamental right to live anywhere in
the country and the constitution entitles
so. He also stated that he was not affected
by Raj's comments.

Awards, honours and
recognitions
 Apart from National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards and other
competitive awards which Bachchan won for his performances
throughout the years, he has been awarded several honors for his
achievements in the Indian film industry. In 1991, he became the
first artist to receive the Film fare Lifetime Achievement Award,
which was established in the name of Raj Kapoor. Bachchan was
crowned as Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Film fare
Awards. The Government of India awarded him with the Padma
Shri in 1984[64] and the Padma Bhushan in 2001. France's highest
civilian honor, the Knight of the Legion of Honour, was conferred
upon him by the French Government in 2007 for his "exceptional
career in the world of cinema and beyond". In 2011, actor Dilip
Kumar blogged that Black should have been nominated for an
Oscar. Kumar added: "If any Indian actor, in my personal opinion,
deserves the world's most coveted award, it is you."

 In 1999, Bachchan was voted the "greatest star of
stage or screen" in a BBC Your Millennium online poll.
The organization noted that "Many people in the
western world will not have heard of [him] ...[but it] is a
reflection of the huge popularity of Indian films." In
2001, he was honored with the Actor of the Century
award at the Alexandria International Film Festival in
Egypt in recognition of his contribution to the world of
cinema. Many other honors for his achievements were
conferred upon him at several International Film
Festivals, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at
the 2010 Asian Film Awards.
 In June 2000, he became the first living Asian to have
been immortalized in wax at London's Madame
Tussauds Wax Museum. Another statue was installed
in New York and Hong Kong in 2009.

 In 2003, he was conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of
the French town of Deauville. He was honored with an
Honorary Doctorate by the University of Jhansi, India, in
2004, the University of Delhi in 2006, the De Montfort
University in Leicester, UK, in 2006, the University Brendan
Foster by the Leeds Metropolitan University in Yorkshire,
UK, in 2007, and the Queensland University of Technology in
Brisbane, Australia, in 2011. Several books have been
written about Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan: the
Legend was published in 1999,To be or not to be: Amitabh
Bachchan in 2004, AB: The Legend: (A Photographer's
Tribute) in 2006 /, Amitabh Bachchan: Ek Jeevit
Kimvadanti in 2006, Amitabh: The Making of a Superstar in
2006, Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me in
2007 and Bachchanalia in 2009. Bachchan himself also
wrote a book in 2002: Soul Curry for you and me – An
Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life. In the
early 80s, Bachchan authorized the use of his likeness for
the comic book character Supremo in a series titled The
Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh

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