Filmfare considers this one of the most iconic performances of Bollywood history. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona-the "angry young man" of Bollywood cinema. Many of Bachchan's films during this early period did not do well, but that was about to change.ĭirector Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film Zanjeer (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. In 1972 he made an appearance in the road action comedy Bombay to Goa directed by S. During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film Guddi which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri. Following Parwaana were several films including Reshma Aur Shera (1971). He then played his first antagonist role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in Parwaana (1971). His role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garnered Bachchan his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award. His first acting role was as one of the seven protagonists in the film Saat Hindustani directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Anwar Ali (brother of comedian Mehmood), Madhu and Jalal Agha.Īnand (1971) followed, in which Bachchan starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. The couple have two children, Shweta Nanda (wife of businessman Nikhil Nanda) and Abhishek Bachchan (actor and husband of actress Aishwarya Rai).īachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome. Teji had some influence in Amitabh Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that he should "take the centre stage."īachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri. His mother had a keen interest in theatre and was offered a feature film role, but she preferred her domestic duties. He later attended Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007.īachchan is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Nainital. It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films and for all other practical purposes, Bachchan has become the surname for all of his immediate family.
In English, Inquilab Zindabad means "Long live the revolution." However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed the boy's name to Amitabh, which means "the light that will never die." Although his surname was Shrivastava, Amitabh's father had adopted the pen name Bachchan ("child-like" in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works. Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab, inspired by the phrase Inquilab Zindabad popularly used during the Indian independence struggle. His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a Hindi poet and his mother Teji Bachchan was a Punjabi Sikh from Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Punjab. The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond.īachchan made his Hollywood debut in 2013 with The Great Gatsby, in which he played a non-Indian Jewish character, Meyer Wolfsheim.īachchan was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, in north central India. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. He is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 39 nominations overall. Bachchan has won many major awards in his career, including three National Film Awards as Best Actor, a number of awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies and fourteen Filmfare Awards.