Amitabh Bachchan - Short Essay

Amitabh Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. He rose to such stardom that the French director, Francois Truffaut called him a ‘One Man Industry’. His rise in Indian cinema, with his trademark deep baritone voice and intense eyes, this tall (6 feet 2 inches) person rightly became the "Angry Young Man" in the 1970s and changed the face of Indian cinema forever.

Amitabh Bachchan was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh to Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a renowned Hindi poet, and Teji Bachchan. He was married to Jaya Bhaduri and they have two children – Abhishek Bachchan and Shweta Nanda. 

Amitabh made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Bhuvan Shome and soon got his first role in Saat Hindustani and won the National film award for the Best Newcomer. He then went on to win the first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award for his role as a doctor in Anand. He went on progressing gradually, but the real period of his stardom began with Zanjeer in which he played the role of a police inspector. This movie established him as the ‘Angry Young Man’. With the huge success of this film, he never turned back. He became a household name with his numerous movies. He has such a large number of successful films behind him that it would be quite prejudiced to mention only a few of them, yet this space is not sufficient to discuss them all. His Abhiman, Deewaar, Sholay, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, Kabhie Kabhie, Mr. Natwarlal, Don and so many others are only a few to name. During this course, he also won several film awards in different categories.

Amitabh suffered a near fatal accident while filming Coolie when during an action scene he struck a table’s corner and lost a significant amount of blood. He remained critically ill for several months. People prayed for him. Their wishes bore fruit when they could see their beloved star once again start to work. This film was released in 1983 after all and became a huge hit particularly due to Bachchan’s accident.

Amitabh is the only actor to achieve at least one hit every year for 15 consecutive years, from 1972 (Bombay to Goa) to 1986 (Aakhree Raasta).  He took a break from acting in 1984 and joined politics. He contested elections from Allahabad for the Lok Sabha and won it by one of the highest margins in history. However, he was not satisfied with politics and bid it goodbye never to come back to it. He returned to films with Shahenshah, but his star power started to lose its value. He also set up the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. (A.B.C.L.) in 1996. However, this venture failed miserably leaving him under a lot of debt and legal crisis. He again attempted to revive his acting career with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, but his big break came with his appearance on television with Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000. Ever since, he is one of the most beloved film personality. He has given some very popular films after it, such as Baghban, Paa and Black.

Apart from film awards, he has also won a number of prestigious awards, including the Superstar of the Millennium in 2000, Padma Shri in 1984 and Padma Bhushan in 2001. He was also given the Legion of Honour by the French Government. He was also given the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch in 2012 during its last leg of its relay.

Amitabh's charisma is not fading even today. He remains the brightest star of Indian cinema and television. His popularity is still higher than any of his co-actors. Even the most popular stars seem to look like mere lamps before his sun-like personality. All this is due to his untiring hard work and positive set of mind. We wish him a long life.