Happy Birthday Amitabh Bachchan: What makes him Bollywood's Shahenshah
Oct 10, 2012 15:22pm
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Bollywood's superstar Amitabh Bachchan turns 70 on October 11. Take a look why nobody can take his place in Bollywood...
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Over his super successful years on Bollywood he has come to be known as - the Big B, Angry Young Man, Shahenshah and so on.
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Clearly he is the biggest star of Bollywood and one of the most prominent figures in the history of films in India.
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He was born to Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a very well-known Hindi poet, and Teji Bachchan. Though the family surname was Shrivastava, his father had adopted the pen-name Bachchan.
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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.
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Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Newcomer for 'Saat Hindustani'.
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'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.
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The Big B then played his first negative role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in 'Parwaana' (1971).
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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 person- the 'angry young man' of Bollywood cinema.
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He married his co-actress Jaya Bhaduri around the same time and starred in quite a few successful hits with her - 'Abhimaan' topping that list.
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In his hit movie 'Deewar' he worked with Nirupa Roy and Shashi Kapoor. The 1975 movie has been called one of the top 25 must see films in Bollywood.
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Released on 15 August 1975 was 'Sholay', which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning INR 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million.
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Amitabh divulged in an interview that he wanted to play the role of Gabbar Singh. And as luck would have it, he played the role in Ram Gopal Verma's 'Aag' and the movie did terribly at the box office.
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Incidentally, 'Sholay' earned the award of the Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.
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He also worked in hits like 'Amar Akbar Anthony', 'Coolie', and 'Chupke Chupke'.
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The roles saw him oscillating between being a romantic hero, an action star and an actor with perfect comic timing.
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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 HN Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by one of the highest victory margins in general election history.
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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.
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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. Things looked up with the 1991 hit film, 'Hum', for which he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award.
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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 film 'Agneepath'.
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Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with 'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' (1998), and received positive reviews for 'Sooryavansham' (1999).
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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'.
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In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-office hit, 'Mohabbatein', directed by Aditya Chopra. He played a stern, older figure that rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan. His role won him his third Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.
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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).
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His brilliant role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie 'Black' won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and his fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award.
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In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit films 'Bunty Aur Babli' (2005), 'Sarkar' (2005), and 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' (2006).
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His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were 'Baabul' (2006), 'Eklavya' and 'Nishabd' (2007). His performances in each of them were praised by critics.
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'Paa', which released at the end of 2009. 'Paa' 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 favourable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance.
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'Paa' won him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award.
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In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through 'Kandahar', directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal. The film was based on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814.
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2011 saw the release of 'Buddha Hoga Tera Baap'. The movie did not get the expected response but it clearly was a declaration by a fan turned director that Big B would always remain the star.
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Despite so many ups down in his professional life, Amitabh still remains to be the most loved Bollywood celebrity.
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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 Khiladi' since he could not find a suitable role for him.
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We wish a very happy birthday to Amitabh Bachchan and hope to see him in many more films.
