Rajiv Gandhi told his mother and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the 1980s. My best friend should be sent to Rajya Sabha. But Indira rejected the demand. Let your friend stick to acting. Later, he reached the Lok Sabha through the election itself, but Indira’s promise was that he should stick to the acting field. Even as he approaches 80 years of age, he is a household name known to every Indian across languages. Father named it Inquilab. Mom called Munna. His father’s friend and poet Sumithranandan changed the names to Amitabh. The actor who arrived with a long and slim figure and a heavy voice has given time and fans a place in their hearts. A single name that brightens with time. Amitabh Bachchan.
From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, there are many languages, many costumes, many cultures and many people. But every such Indian has one property which he takes pride of place. That is Amitabh Bachchan. Even today he is synonymous with the word brand in cinema, politics, public arena and philanthropy. The days when Bollywood meant Amitabh and Amitabh meant Bollywood have not faded. Whoever comes later will be hanged on the same roof where Bachan is sitting. Many decades have passed away since that voice, face and nod entered the heart of the country. As he has fallen and stood up many times in his life, there is a certainty in that stance. After his college education in Delhi, the young man tried to work as an announcer in Akashvani but failed. The young man was expelled because his voice and accent were deemed unfit for broadcasting. In 1962, he also failed in the interview to ICI company. Later, he got a small job at Bed and Company with a salary of Rs.500. Bachchan, who started like that, later earned every moment of his life. At the age of 80, even today, leading brands compete with Bachchan in their commercials. Crores are shelled out for those precious moments.
Bachchan, who was criticized by Aakashvani officials as not having a good voice, later saved himself in the film with his own voice. In 1969, Bhuvanshome, directed by legendary director Mrinal Sen, was composed by Bachchan. Later he also lent his voice to Satyajit Ray’s films. Undoubtedly, the neglects he faced early in life brought Bachchan to where he is today.
He started his acting career by performing a play at Sherwood College, Nainital, Uttarakhand. He made his film debut in 1969 with a role in Saath Hindustani. Amitabh Bachchan stepped into the acting career as one of the seven Indians in the film. Good start. Amitabh won the National Award for Best Newcomer for this film. 3000 rupees for the first film. Today he is the owner of crores of rupees. In 1973, Prakash Mehra’s film Sanjeer, many of the heroes of the day withdrew. The reason was that the lead role had a negative touch. Bachchan bravely took up this role. It also marked the beginning of the reign of the uncrowned emperor of Indian cinema. Amitabh also excelled in his co-star role in the Rajesh Khanna starrer Anand. This film in 1971 won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. People saw Amitabh’s first negative role in 1971 with Parvana. People liked Amitabh despite his negative role. In 1971, Amitabh starred in the Dharmendra starrer ‘Guddi’ opposite Jayabhaduri. Later, Jaya became Amitabh’s life partner in 1973. Bachchan was slated to play the lead in Guddi. But when director Hrishikesh Mukherjee decided that his hero was not a familiar face, Bachchan had to withdraw in despair. Later, Bachchan often joked that it was Jaya who pushed him to get fired.
In 1973, Amitabh got a new role when he played the role of Inspector Vijay Khanna in the film ‘Saanjeer’. Through Amitabh Bachchan, people saw the angry Indian youth. The term “angry young man” was later introduced to the name Bachchan over the years. In 1975, the film ‘Deewar’ became a big hit at the box office. Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor were the heroes of this film. Then came the birth of ‘Sholay’, the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema. Released on August 15, 1975, the film became a landmark in the history of Indian cinema. Sholay became the highest grossing film in Indian cinema at that time. In 1999, BBC India declared Sholay as the Film of the Millennium.
On July 26, 1982, Bachchan’s accident during the shooting of the movie Kooli was one of the things that saddened India at that time. It is also true that the danger continues to haunt him during his journey from there to here. Amitabh had an accident while performing a stunt scene with actor Puneet Issar. While filming the scene of Amitabh falling on a table, Amitabh fell on the corner of the table and injured his stomach. Amitabh’s blood has dried up. It took Amitabh months to recover from the injury. Cooley’s first script had Amitabh’s character dying. But when Amitabh had an accident and later came back and started acting, the script was changed to make Amitabh’s character escape from death. The change in the script was later written in real life as well. He once said that 75 percent of his liver was damaged by the disease and that he had been living on the remaining 25 percent for the past 20 years.
After entering politics, Amitabh took a break from his film career. Although he started out with success in politics, he later withdrew after realizing that it was not his field. A grand comeback in 1988 with Shahansha. Amitabh’s wife Jayabhaduri wrote the story of this film. The film became a huge hit. With this, the fans gave him another name. Shahan Shah.
Bachchan has a long list of reigns, hiatuses and comebacks. His specialty is that he was able to become a deeply embedded brand in the areas he was still involved in. In 1992, with the film Khuda Gawa, Amitabh started to stay away from films again. Amitabh’s previously unreleased film ‘Insaniyat’ was released in 1994 but it failed. In 1996, Amitabh Bachchan started an entertainment company called Corporation Limited. This resulted in huge losses. The company’s first film ‘Tere Mere Sapne’ was released in 1996. This image failed. All the films produced by ABCL later were destroyed. The 1996 Miss World pageant was sponsored by ABCL. ABCL suffered a huge loss in this too. In 1997, ABCL released the film ‘Mrityudatta’ starring Amitabh. This film also tasted failure. History has it that even Amitabh’s house in Mumbai, ‘Pratiksha’, was mortgaged that day. It can be said that what was made from the film was dedicated to the film itself. Bachchan answered the question of whether your hero has fallen with his comeback. In 2000, Amitabh started acting again as a supporting actor. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Mohabbatein. This year itself, Amitabh regained his faded stardom by hosting the TV show ‘Kon Banega Crorepati’. This program became a huge hit. Another history is that the bank which had filed a case for non-repayment of money withdrew the case against Bachchan when this TV program became a hit.
Later saw another Bachchan. Bachchan became the cause of Bollywood through his acting roles. The roles played by the actors added value to the actor. In 2005, he won the National Award for Best Actor again for Black. In 1990, Amitabh won the National Award for Best Actor for his performance in Agneepath. In 2009, Amitabh won the National Award for Best Actor again with the film ‘Paa’. Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest honor in Indian cinema. The Bharat Ratnam was dedicated to him because the country was in mind. Even today, he remains an irreplaceable presence in Indian cinema.
Poet Harivamsrai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan named their son Inquilab, born on 11 October 1942, after the words Inquilab Zindabad, which was used during the freedom struggle. But even though the name was later changed, the time and fans chanted Amitabh Bachchan Zindabad. Bachchan’s comebacks in Indian cinema are like a phoenix that has risen from the ashes many times. In the last decade we are experiencing new Bachchan. An actor who lives in characters created only for him, with the changes of time. The truth is that there is only one Bachchan in Indian cinema to play those characters. Bigby is yet to become the brand of Parakattu India. Even at the age of 80, those characters who were angry for Indian youth are still there. India is proud of you. Health and wellness Bachchan sir.