Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan is a name that is resonant with the Indian film industry or Bollywood. The 77 year old actor has, to his credit, a line of successful films and a legacy that may find a parallel with one of the oldest families of the industry. His beginnings, however, were humble and even though he is a superstar and is also known as the superstar of the millennium. After enjoying two decades of super stardom, Amitabh’s career suffered a set back. For health reasons he even took a sabbatical in 1984 to venture into politics but returned to acting in 1988. Success and then failiure greeted the actor. After a series of movies failed to perform at the box office. Amitabh Bachchan made a comeback into the homes of the Indian audience as a host of the famous game show – Kaun Banega Crorepati or KBC in 2000. From there on, Amitabh or Big B, as lovingly called by his fans and the industry, has been a household name.
The versatile actor was born as Inquilaab Srivastava in Allahabad on October 11, 1942. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a famous poet and had adapted the pen name of Bachchan which meant – childlike. It was this name that was later adapted as a family name. The name of the child was also changed to Amitabh on the recommendation of a fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant.
Amitabh Bachchan’s career has seen a complete trajectory of highs and lows. He made his acting debut with the movie Saat Hindustani in the year 1969. His next movie, Anand was released in 1971 as a supporting actor opposite the legendary Rajesh Khanna. His performance even won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Supporting Role. Amitabh’s career, however, failed to take off. Several movies followed without much success. It all changed after Zanjeer released in 1973. The movie got him his first real commercial success and also gave him the title of the ‘Angry Young Man’ of the film industry. His career, from there, went from strength to strength.
Amitabh has, since then, worked in many blockbuster hits like Coolie, Amar Akbar Anthony, Natwarlal, Silsila, Chupke Chupke, Deewar, Trishul, Kabhi Kabhie, and so on. From an angry cop to a romantic hero to acing comedy, Amitabh continued to win hearts and deliver hits after hits. To this day, his characters have been immortalized and his dialogues repeated endlessly. His last release was 102 Not Out, a comedy drama in which he played the father of Rishi Kapoor.
Amitabh Bachchan is married to Jaya Bachchan and has a son and a daughter. Son Abhishek Bachchan is also an actor and is married to former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai. The couple have a daughter together. Amitabh recently fought COVID19 and has since resumed work for the next season of Kaun Banega Crorepati.