** The Super Star of Filmindusty **

Born
Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan
October 11, 1942 (1942-10-11) (age 67)
Allahabad, United Province,

Indian Empire
Other name(s) : Big B
Occupation : Film actor, producer,singer,television,presenter
Years active : 1969–present

Spouse(s) : Jaya Bhaduri (1973–present)

HISTRY OF BACHCHAN

On the dated 11 oct 1942 a little child born in the simple family of Harivanshray bachchan,a simple poet & drama writter at alahbad.At that time nobody knows that he will be the ideal for the indian telefilms.

Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including three National Film Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards. He holds the record for most number of Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare Awards. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter, and was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987.

** Career **

Early work: 1969–1972
Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani, a film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Madhu and Jalal Agha. Though the film was not a financial success, Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Newcomer.

The critically acclaimed and commercially successful Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Amitabh then played the role of an infatuated lover in Parwaana (1971) opposite Navin Nischol, Yogeeta Bali and Om Prakash and was a rare instance of him portraying the villain. This was followed by several films which were not particularly successful at the box office including Reshma Aur Shera (1971).

During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film Guddi which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri opposite Dharmendra. Noted for his deep baritone voice early on in his career, he narrated part of the film Bawarchi. In 1972, he made an appearance in the road action comedy Bombay to Goa, directed by S. Ramanathan. He starred alongside actors such as Aruna Irani, Mehmood, Anwar Ali and Nasir Hussain.

>>1973-1983

In 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as Kunwara Baap and Dost, before playing a supporting role in the highest grossing film of that year, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship was a critical and commercial success, placing Amitabh opposite Kumar himself, Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman. Bachchan then played the leading role in film Majboor, released on 6 December 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag starring George Kennedy.

The film was only a moderate success at the box office.In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke, the crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili. However 1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film Deewar, opposite Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh, which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4. Indiatimes Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. Released on 15 August 1975 was Sholay (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning INR 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation.

Bachchan played the role of Jaidev opposite a cast which included some of the top names in the industry including Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. In 1999, BBC India declared it the "Film of the Millennium" and like Deewar, has been cited by Indiatimes movies as amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with the special distinction award called Filmfare Best Film of 50 year.

Politics: 1984–1987

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 H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by the one of the highest victory margins in general election history (68.2% of the vote). His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool. The resignation followed the implication of Bachchan and his brother in the "Bofors scandal" by a newspaper, which he vowed to take to court. Bachchan was eventually found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.
His old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during a financial crisis due to the failure of his company ABCL. Therefore Bachchan started to support Amar Singh's political party, the Samajwadi party. Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and became a Rajya Sabha member. Bachchan has continued to do favors for the Samajwadi party, including advertisements and political campaigns. These activities have recently gotten him into trouble again in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous incident of submission of legal papers by him, stating that he is a farmer.
A 15 year press ban against Bachchan was imposed during his peak acting years by Stardust and some of the other film magazines. In his own defense, Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets almost till the end of 1989.

Television career

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. As it did in most other countries where it was adopted, the program found immediate success. Canara Bank withdrew its law suit against Bachchan in November 2000.

Bachchan hosted KBC till November 2005, and its success set the stage for his return to film popularity. In 2009 Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire in the first question of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? contest "Amitabh Bachchan" was the correct answer to the question "Who was the star of Zanjeer? Feroz Abbas Khan performed as Amitabh Bachchan in a scene in the movie while Anil Kapoor performed as the host of the contest. Amitabh Bachchan is hosting Bigg Boss 3.

Raj Thackeray's criticism

In January 2008 at political rallies, Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, targeted Amitabh Bachchan, asserting that the actor was "more inclined" towards his native state than Maharashtra. He expressed his disapproval of Amitabh's inaugurating a girls' school named after his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in Maharashtra. According to media reports, Raj's censure of Amitabh, whom he admires, stemmed out of his disappointment of not being invited to Amitabh's son Abhishek's marriage to Aishwarya, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.

Responding to Raj's accusations, the actor's wife, SP MP Jaya Bachchan, said that the Bachchans were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai—Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here."However, Amitabh abstained from commenting on the issue.

References

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3. Mishra, Vijay (2001). Bollywood cinema: temples of desire. Routledge. p. 131. ISBN 0415930154.
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9. "Sholay". International Business Overview Standard. http://www.ibosnetwork.com/asp/filmbodetails.asp?id=Sholay. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
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15. "Footage of fight scene in Coolie released to the public". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085361/trivia. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
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18. "Amitabh Bachchan: Stint in Politics". HindustanTimes.com. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/amitabh/politics.htm. Retrieved 2005-12-05.
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20. "Bachchan has no plans for election." hindu.com.