AMITABH BACHCHAN..........

BIOGRAPHY OF BIG B:

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.

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).

Biography

Amitabh Bachchan born October 11, 1942 is a renowned Indian film actor, popular mostly in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle-East. Bachchan's acting career began in 1969, reaching heights in the mid 70-80s. After withdrawing from acting career, Bachchan returned in 2000 as the host of the television show Kaun Bangea Crorepati? on Star Plus. He is presently active in the Indian film industry.

Bachchan was also a member of Indian Parliament (MP), being elected in 1984 from Allahabad. His political career was short lived as he resigned from this post after only 3 years.




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 first big hit happened with Namak Haram in 1973. With Zanjeer also scoring unprecedented box-office collection, the year heralded the arrival of the legend called Amitabh Bachchan. From then onwards 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.

Amitabh Bachchan born October 11, 1942 is a renowned Indian film actor, popular mostly in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle-East. Bachchan's acting career began in 1969, reaching heights in the mid 70-80s. After withdrawing from acting career, Bachchan returned in 2000 as the host of the television show Kaun Bangea Crorepati? on Star Plus. He is presently active in the Indian film industry.

Bachchan was also a member of Indian Parliament (MP), being elected in 1984 from Allahabad. His political career was short lived as he resigned from this post after only 3 years.

Bachchan was born in the city of Allahabad, India. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a well-known poet of Urdu and Hindi. The original last name of the family is "Srivastava"; "Bachchan" was in fact a pen name used by his father. However, when Bachchan entered films he did so under his father's pen name. Now he is never known as anything but Amitabh Bachchan. His immediate family has also adopted the Bachchan surname. His mother is Teji Bachchan.

Bachchan attended Allahabad's Boys' High School, followed by Nainital's Sherwood College, where he gained a degree in art. He later went on to study at Kirori Mal College in Delhi University earning a degree in science. When he was in his twenties, Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co., based in Kolkata, to pursue a career in acting.
He is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan). The couple have two children: daughter Shweta and son Abhishek. Abhishek Bachchan has also entered the Bollywood film industry.




Bachchan is said to have met Jaya Bhaduri at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) at Pune, though there is no evidence to confirm that he was ever enrolled there as a student.
In 1984, Bachchan briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's Parliament seat against H. N. Bahuguna, a well-known politician, and won by a large margin (68.2% of the vote). His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after only three years, not finishing his term. At the time of his resignation, it was rumoured that he might have been involved in the Bofors Scandal. Bachchan was not implicated in the case, and has since distanced himself from the Gandhi family. He denies that the two events were connected, commenting that he "should have never got into politics".
He has two grandchildren: Navya Naveli and Agastya Nanda.

In November 2005, Bachchan was admitted to India's Lilavati Hospital, in order to undergo surgery on his intestine. The procedure came after Bachchan complained of pain in his abdomen, and the issue is said to have been related to a 1983 injury. After the operation, Bachchan took several months off from work, unable to leave his home even to shoot the sequel to his recently-launched television program, Kaun Banega Crorepati 2. By April 2006 Bachchan had resumed shooting for most of his projects.