Amitabh Bachchan -- the ‘Shahenshah’ of Bollywood, who today turns 69, is all set to celebrate his birthday. Millions of his fans across the world are also celebrating his birthday.
He was born to well-known poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan in Allahabad on October 11, 1942. Amitabh went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in Nainital, and then to Kirori Mal College in Delhi University where he earned a double MA. The elder son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company executive in Shaw Wallace in Calcutta, before coming to the land of dreams, Bombay Mumbai. He had to struggle a lot in Bollywood because of his unconventional looks and his height. At 6’3”, he was considered far too tall by the filmmakers.
Ultimately, it was KA Abbas who gave Amitabh his first break in ‘Saat Hindustani’ (1969). But the film failed miserably, with Bachchan going almost unnoticed. It was on the sets of B R Ishara’s ‘Ek Nazar’ (1972) that Amitabh and Jaya Bhaduri realized that they were in love with each other. They married soon after.
It was his 13th film 'Zanjeer’, directed by Prakash Mehra, which catapulted Amitabh to fame. Amitabh introduced the motif of the 'angry young man' to Indian cinema.Bachchan essayed a fantastic range of ‘off-beat’ roles under the direction of veteran Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Apart from ‘Anand’ and ‘Namak Haraam’, he gave standout performances in ‘Abhimaan’ (1973) ‘Mili’ (1975), ‘Chupke Chupke’ (1975), ‘Jurmana’ (1979) and ‘Bemisaal’ (1982).
Amitabh proved his versatality and scored in all types of roles be it the sensitive romances of Yash Chopra (Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Silsila (1981)) or the entertainers of Manmohan Desai. (Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish (1977), Suhaag (1979), Naseeb (1981) to name some) He excelled in all types of scenes be it action, drama, song and dance or comedy.
Amitabh started his own production company, the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL). ABCL ventured into film distribution but unfortunately fell on evil days.
The biggest feather in Amitabh's crowded cap was being chosen as the superstar of the Millennium over such greats as Charlie Chaplin and Laurence Olivier and being selected as the first film personality from India to be immortalized at Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum, London! And by he hosting the popular game show Kaun Banega Karodpati? he not only came back with a bang but endeared himself to the younger geneartion of today as well. On January 26, 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Indian Cinema.
On the advice of his close friend Rajiv Gandhi, he contested the general elections for the first time from his hometown Allahabad. His stint in politics, however, proved short-loved. Having realized that politics was not his cup of tea, Amitabh resigned his seat in Parliament, vowing never to dabble in politics again.
Today he continues to be perhaps the busiest actor in Bollywood with roles even today in films like Baghban (2003) and Khakhee (2004). The Big B is an icon who has survived three decades of competition, even trends. And emerged a winner.
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