A tribute to the Legend - Amitabh Bachan

Some men are like wine. The older they become, the headier they are. It is never truer than in the case of Amitabh Bachchan. The son of poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan rode the Indian film industry like a colossus for close to three decades. And, at 59, Amitabh has more producers and directors queuing up in front of his door than many young actors of Bollywood.
Amitabh Bachchan is undoubtedly the most famous Bollywood actor of our time and our previous genre. I cannot think of any figure in Bollywood who can rival his acting skills and popularity. He is undoubtedly the living legend in Bollywood. What amazes me is that he has remained a respectable figure in India for the last 4 decades or even more. He was equally successful in action movies, comedy movies and romantic movies.
Amitabh has produced many hit films and he has received many awards both in home and abroad. He is a highly educated person and a man of good taste and culture. He was involved in politics and he saw huge success in the TV industry. His versatility attracts me most. He is going to be 65 later this year (October 11). I do not know of any actor in Bollywood who could be so popular at the age of 65. Only Amitabh Bachchan could achieve it. He is still one of top 5 actors in Bollywood and he remains one of the top paid Bollywood actors at this age.
Born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Amitabh — the older of the two children graduated from Delhi University with an arts degree. Before that, he completed a stint in Sherwood College, a boarding school in Nainital. The film industry was a most unlikely place to begin a career for this son of an academician. He gave up his job as a freight broker for a shipping firm in Calcutta to move to Bombay in 1968. Months of struggle followed. Ironically known for his rich voice, he was rejected by All India Radio and even played a mute in one of his early films Reshma Aur Shera (1971). His first movie was Saat Hindustani in 1969.In his early films like the Hrishikesh Mukherjee Directed Anand (1970) and Namak Haram (1973) or in Saudagar he was presented as a brooding melancholic anti-hero drawn from Bengali Literary stereotypes traceable to novelist Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and brought into Hindi Cinema by Nitin Bose, Bimal Roy and Asit Sen. But Zanjeer (1973) changed all that, the film saw a new kind of hero, a hero who took the law in his own hands and fought the villain.
Amitabh had his first big break through Namak-Haram in 1973. Then comes the most memorable movie of his lifetime which changed his image completely into a Angry young man which has unprecedented box office collection ,that year heralded the arrival of the legend called Amitabh Bachchan.
From then to now there was no looking back. The year 1975 saw two all-time super hits, Deewar and Sholay. In Deewaar (1975) he played the role of a mafia don opposite his policeman brother, played by Shashi Kapoor. It was a brilliant performance with Amitabh more than able to humanize the gangster and have people sympathizes with him rather than with his law-abiding brother, Sholay became a benchmark film in Indian cinema. Hrishikesh Mukherjee Chupke Chupke released around the same time, proved Amitabh ability to handle comedy roles as well. The film, starring Amitabh, Jaya Bhaduri, Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra and veteran actor Om Prakash, became a big hit.
The later half of the 1970s saw films like Amar Akbar Antony, Kabhie Kabhie, Don, Trishul, Mili, Abhimaan, Shaan, Laawaris, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Nastik, Kala Patthar, and Namak Halal etc. Some of his other top hits include Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Chashme Baddoor, Dostana, Faraar, Kaalia, Kasme Vaade, Khoon Pasina, Majboor, Naseeb, Parvarish, Shakti, Sharaabi, Silsilay and The Great Gambler. Amitabh Bachchan was seriously wounded during the shooting of the 1983 film, Coolie. The nation came to a grinding halt as film-lovers from across the length and breadth of India and abroad prayed for the well being of the actor.
In 1984, when at his peak as a star, he tried his hand at politics. Due to his enormous popularity, not to mention the close association he enjoyed with Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and members of the Nehru family, he was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home city of Allahabad. But his stint in politics did not last long and he was implicated in some scandals. He gave up his seat in parliament, vowing never to be involved in politics again.
The first dud at the box-office came with the 1988 film, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati. Till then, Amitabh had not had a flop. His films were either hits or super hits. But his re-entry in the 1990s came with films like Khuda Gawah, Agneepath, Hum and Shahenshah, Amitabh then dabbled in business, setting up his Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited and pumping all his energies and time towards it. The lack of business acumen showed soon with ABCL sinking in no time. Amitabh made a serious comeback attempt to movies. Though the talent had never faded, the box-office magic had.
In the last 90’s, Amitabh Bachchan has acted in films like Mrityudaata, Major Saab, Lal Baadshah, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Sooryavansham, and Ek Rishtaa. The Bond of Love, Mohabbatein and Aks — The Reflection. Some of the films bombed and the rest did just about okay business. Like a phoenix Amitabh Bachchan resurrected himself again in the year 2000, this time on the small screen. Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? became a phenomenon on Indian television and suddenly Amitabh Bachchan was back to where he belonged — success and limelight. Amitabh Bachchan was also chosen as the BBC’s 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! On January 26, 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Indian Cinema.
Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is in the news for a lot of reasons. In a story spanning three generations, KKKG has Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan playing husband and wife with Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan as their sons.
In the year 2003 Amitabh Bachchan also acted in the film Baghban. In this film Hema Malini played the role of his wife. Directed by Ravi Chopra and produced by B R Chopra, Baghban is a predictable tale reminiscent of the Rajesh Khanna-Shabana Azmi film Avtaar. Yet, despite the cliches, it’s an identifiable and realistic story, boosted greatly by Amitabh’s outstanding performance and the ever-so-gorgeous Hema Malini’s dignified portrayal.
In a midst of the successful career, he had seen bitter times of his life. After a four year break, he was back in the unsuccessful Mrityudaata in 1997. Critics had written him off. However, his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan in 1998. Four flops in 1999 and incurring debt of over 90 crores rupees of his sinking company ABCL saw him at an all-time low. The actor presented the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire called "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" in 2000. After a series of hits with Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003) and his most recent Khakee (2004), a 60 plus Bachchan is showing no signs of slowing down and proving the critics wrong once again. In 2007, he is the most busiest actor in Bollywood with 10 films to be released this year.