About Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan’s birth name is “Amitabh Shrivastav.”. The name Amitabh Bachchan was suggested by poet Sumitranandan pant (Indian poet). He is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician, who works in Hindi cinema.  In his film career spanning over five decades, he has performed in more than 200 films. He is widely regarded as one of the most flourishing and trivial actors in the history of Indian cinema. He is generally referred to as the Shahenshah of Bollywood or Big B. 

Amitabh Bachchan was born in Allahabad to the Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan, a social activist. He started his acting career in 1969 as a voice narrator in the  film Bhuvan Shome. He started gaining popularity with films like Zanjeer, Sholay, and Deewaar which helped him achieve greater stardom in later years  in Hindi Cinema. 

He has received various honours throughout his career, including four National Film accolades for Best Actor and numerous accolades from festivals and award shows throughout the world.He has received 42 nominations overall and 33 for Best Actor, making him the most nominated performer in any significant acting category at Filmfare. He has won sixteen Filmfare Awards. 

Apart from acting, he has also worked as a playback singer and television presenter. He has been the anchor in all seasons of the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.He briefly entered politics in the 1980s. He has also done a lot to serve humanitarian causes and is one of the  leading brand endorsers in India.

Early Life

Amitabh Bachchan was born on 11 October 1942 in Allahabad to a social activist Teji Bachchan and the Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan. His father was an Awadhi Hindu Kayastha,  fluent in Hindi, Awadhi and Urdu. He also has a younger brother named Ajitabh who is 5 years younger than him. His surname was Shrivastva earlier but  his father is in complete opposition of the caste system and later gave him the pen name “Bachchan” which became his last name from school till now. His immediate family is also called by this surname.

Amitabh Bachchan completed his early schooling at Boys’ High School & College in Allahabad and Sherwood College in Nainital.He completed his Bachelor of Science from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1962. His father approached Prithviraj Kapoor, founder of Prithvi theatre just after his studies to see if there’s any opening for him in theatre. But unfortunately there was none. He was also a close friend of Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi before becoming an actor. He also used to spend time with them when he was resident in New Delhi.

He also applied for a newsreader role in All India Radio, Delhi but  didn’t get selected. Then he became a business executive in a company in Kolkata.Before beginning his film career, he was employed in the theatre.

Personal Life

Family life- 

Amitabh Bachchan married to a politician and  actress Jaya Bhaduri on June 3, 1973. They were blessed with two children, Abhishek (actor), and Shweta( author, journalist and former model). Abhishek married actress Aishwarya Rai, and they have a daughter named Aaradhya. Shweta is married to businessman Nikhil Nanda. They have two kids, a daughter named Navya Naveli, and a son, Agastya. He along with his family lives in Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

In the middle of the 1970s, he is alleged to have had an extramarital relationship with the actress Rekha. In that time they first acted together in several films like Do Anjaane, and later in many successful films like Khoon Pasina, Ganga Ki Saugandh and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. However, both of them afterwards disputed it.

Social Causes- 

Amitabh Bachchan has contributed to many social causes. He donated ₹1.1 million to clear the debts of nearly 40 beleaguered farmers in Andhra Pradesh and ₹3 million to clear the debts of some 100 Vidarbha farmers.In 2013, he established the Harivansh Rai Bachchan Memorial Trust, which bears his father’s name. This trust partnered  with Urja Foundation to provide electricity in 3,000 homes through solar energy. He paid off the loans of 2100 farmers from Bihar in June 2019.

He was also made the goodwill ambassador of UNICEF for the Polio Eradication Campaign in 2002.He served as the spokesperson for the ‘Save Our Tigers’ campaign, which emphasised the necessity of tiger conservation in India. Additionally, he backed PETA’s effort in India to release Sunder, a 14-year-old elephant who was beaten and chained in a Kolhapur, Maharashtra, temple.

In 2014, it was revealed that he had contributed his voice and visual representation to the TeachAids programme, an international HIV/AIDS prevention education tool created at Stanford University, for both Hindi and English language editions.He has actively promoted the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) as a “brand ambassador” and has appeared in a few commercials.

Before he and some family members contracted the disease themselves in 2020, he and his family were assisting the Government of India in spreading its public health message regarding COVID.He offered his assistance during the epidemic by donating oxygen concentrators and 25 crore rupees in various forms. 

Career

Amitabh Bachchan made his first film debut as a voice narrator but got his first acting role in the film Saat Hindustani followed by the movie Anand, in which he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. For that role he also got first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Afterward, he also did a bunch of films which turned out to be a failure. He was seen as a “failed newcomer” with twelve flops and only two hits (as a lead in Bombay to Goa and supporting role in Anand) till the age of 30. 

In the 1970s he gained popularity with the movie Zanjeer, it was a violent crime film with violence and  established Amitabh in a new persona—the “angry young man” of Bollywood cinema. He earned his first Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor in this movie. The movie was a major hit and one of the highest-grossing pictures of the year, ending Bachchan’s box office slump and turning him into a star. 

In 1975,  he performed in two films which were considered important in Hindi cinema history.  The first was Deewaar, directed by Yash Chopra, which received a second nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards. Deewar was named one of the top 25 must-see Bollywood films by IndiaTimes Movie. He was greatly aided in his rise to fame by both Deewar and Sholay. 

Two years after becoming a sensation with Zanjeer, Deewaar and Sholay are frequently regarded with elevating Bachchan to the status of a superstar and solidifying his dominance of the business during the 1970s and 1980s. Sholay was named the “Film of the Millennium” by BBC India in 1999, and, like Deewaar, it was named one of the Top 25 Must-See Bollywood Films by Indiatimes Movies.

Films:

Amitabh was asked to sing for the first time in a song from the film Mr. Natwarlal, in which he co-starred alongside Rekha. He has also provided voice-over work for the following films:

• Bhuvan Shome (1969) 
• Bawarchi (1972) 
• Balika Badhu (1975) 
• Tere Mere Sapne (1996) 
• Hello Brother (1999)
• Lagaan (2001)
• Fun2shh… Dudes in the 10th Century (2003)
• Parineeta (2005) 
• March of the Penguins (2005)
• Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
• Swami (2007)
• Zor Lagaa Ke…Haiya! (2009)
• Ra.One (2011)
• Kahaani (2012)
• Krrish 3 (2013)
• Mahabharat (2013)
• Kochadaiiyaan (Hindi Version) (2014)
• CBI documentary (2014) 
• The Ghazi Attack (2017)
• Firangi (2017)

Other Work: 

In the year 2000, Amitabh Bachchan hosted the inaugural season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. In 2009, he also hosted the third season of Bigg Boss. In 2010, he also hosted the fourth season of KBC.The show was a huge success with audiences, breaking numerous TRP records. Team KBC and Bachchan were named Indian of the Year- Entertainment by CNN IBN.

He made his television debut in Yudh, a fictional Sony Entertainment Television TV series in which he played the lead character of a businessman dealing with both his personal and professional life, in 2014.

Business Investments and failure- 

Amitabh Bachchan founded Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL) in 1994, which specialises in event management, production, and distribution. However, the company fell insolvent as a result of the fiasco, and Bachchan was nearly bankrupt as a result. Mrityudata, Major Saab (manufactured by this outfit), and Miss World 1996, which was organised and handled by ABCL, all contributed to this calamity. As a result of this, he began working for television and approached Yash Chopra for a job. ‘It was the darkest time for him,’ he said. 

Awards and Achievements

Net Worth of Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan’s Net Worth is approximately $410 Million which is equal to 3390 Crore INR. Most of his money is through brand endorsements, for which Big B charges between Rs. 5 and Rs. 6 crores. With such a feat, Amitabh Sir is always one step ahead when it comes to humanitarian causes and charitable efforts. He is also one of the greatest income tax payers in the country.

Last Updated: 2023

Conclusion 

Amitabh Bachchan has gained a lot of stardom in his 50 years of career due to his unwavering discipline and urge to learn something new every day. He is one of the greatest and trivial actors in Hindi cinema. Due to his great work and amazing acting skills he has inspired a lot of Indian Actors including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Allu Arjun, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Mohanlal, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee, and Yash.