Amitabh Bachchan

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Amitabh Bachchan (born 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, playback singer and producer who works mainly in Hindi cinema. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most commercially successful actors in the history of Indian film, and has appeared in over 200 films. Nicknames such as “the Angry Young Man”, the Shahenshah of Bollywood and simply Big B reflect the scale of his fame, and his hold on the industry in the 1970s and 1980s led the French director François Truffaut to call him a one-man industry. For Telugu audiences, he is also known for his roles in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy and Kalki 2898 AD.

Early life and education

Bachchan was born in Allahabad, now Prayagraj, to the Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and the social activist Teji Bachchan. His family name was originally Srivastava; Bachchan was the pen name under which his father published his work, and his parents chose to adopt it as the family’s surname when they enrolled their son in school. He has a younger brother, Ajitabh.

He studied at Boys’ High School & College in Allahabad and at Sherwood College in Nainital, and then at Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962.

Beginnings and the “Angry Young Man”

His film career began in 1969, when he worked as a voice narrator on Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome. He first became popular in the early 1970s with films such as Anand, Zanjeer, Namak Haraam and Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. Several of his on-screen roles from this period earned him the label “Angry Young Man”.

Peak stardom

From the mid-1970s through the 1980s he starred in a long run of top-grossing Hindi films, among them Deewaar, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Namak Halaal and Coolie. Critics also valued him for performances in films such as Chupke Chupke, Silsila and Shakti. In 1999 users of a BBC online poll voted him the greatest star of stage or screen of the millennium, and in October 2003 Time magazine described him as the undisputed godfather of Bollywood.

Second innings

After a break from acting in the 1990s, he returned strongly in 2000 with Mohabbatein. Successful and acclaimed films followed over the next two decades, including Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Baghban, Black, Paa, Piku and Pink. He also appeared in the Hollywood film The Great Gatsby (2013), playing a Jewish character.

Telugu films

Bachchan made his first appearance in a Telugu film with a guest role in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019), the historical epic starring Chiranjeevi. He later appeared in Kalki 2898 AD, which the source lists among the successful films of his later career.

Beyond acting

Besides acting, he has worked as a playback singer, a film producer and a television presenter. He has hosted several seasons of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He was briefly involved in politics in the 1980s, has taken part in humanitarian work and is a prominent brand endorser. His audience extends well beyond India, with a large following among the South Asian diaspora and others in Africa, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Caribbean, Oceania and North America.

Awards and honours

Bachchan has won seven National Film Awards, including a record four for Best Actor, and he is the most nominated performer in any major acting category at the Filmfare Awards, with 34 nominations for Best Actor. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, and in 2018 he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest honour in cinema. France made him an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 2007.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.