Amitabh Bachchan Biography and some interesting things

Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, India. In 1969, he debuted in Saat Hindustani. His role in 1972's Zanjeer made him an action movie star. In the 1980s, Bachchan held a seat in the Indian Parliament. In the '90s, he started his own production company. He returned to acting in 1997, with Mrityudaata. In 2000, he began hosting the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

QUOTES

"I don't use any techniques; I'm not trained to be an actor. I just enjoy working in films. It's more instinctive rather than anything else."

– Amitabh Bachchan

Early Life

Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan, best known as Amitabh Bachchan, was born in Allahabad, India on October 11, 1942. India was still a British colony at the time, and would not achieve independence until five years later. Bachchan's father was renowned Hindi poet Dr. Harivansh Rai. His mother, Teji Bachchan, was a Sikh socialite. Amitabh Bachchan was his parents' firstborn. He has one younger brother, named Ajitabh.

Bachchan went to Sherwood College boarding school before enrolling in Delhi University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. Once he graduated, he became a freight broker in Calcutta. After a few years in Calcutta, Bachchan was ready for a change. He decided to move to Bombay and take a stab at Bollywood show business. By this time, India had been independent for nearly two decades, and Hindi cinema was thriving.

Early Film Career

In 1969, Bachchan made his film debut in Saat Hindustani. Although the movie tanked at the box office, Bachchan still managed to capture the attention of directors. Soon enough, the offers started rolling in.

By the early 1970s, Bachchan had garnered popularity with audiences as the "angry young man" in a series of successful Hindi feature films. His starring role in Zanjeer was particularly instrumental in launching him to stardom as an action-movie hero. Bachchan's performances in films like Laawaris, Coolie, Naseeb,Silsila, Shaarabi and Jaadugar continued to enamor fans of the tall and handsome action hero, and also landed him multiple Fanfare Awards. From the 1970s through the early '80s, the swashbuckling Bachchan appeared in more than 100 films. He seized opportunities to work with India's most acclaimed directors, such as Prakash Mehra, and dominated the silver screen with films like Trishul, Sholay and Chashme Buddoor. In addition to acting, Bachchan's roles often required him to sing.

Politics and Business

In 1982, Bachchan had a serious accident while filming. Fans prayed for his recovery. Bachchan survived the accident, but it prompted him to change career paths. In 1984, he traded his Bollywood stardom for a seat in the Indian Parliament. His political aspirations proved to be short-lived; in 1987, he left his seat due to unexpected controversy.

By the 1990s, the limelight surrounding Bachchan had begun to fade. But his decision to start his own entertainment production company, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, and make himself CEO, put him back in the headlines.

Back to Acting

Bachchan followed his true calling and returned to the silver screen in 1997 with the film Mrityudaata, produced by ABCL. In 2000, he also started hosting the Indian version of the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Despite a few box-office failures in the 1990s, in the 2000s, Bachchan climbed his way back up to stardom as a film actor, earning additional Filmfare and International Film Award nominations for his work on films likeBaghban (2003), Khakee (2004) and Paa (2009).

Personal Life

Bachchan married movie actress Jaya Bhaduri in 1973. The couple have two children, a daughter and a son. Their daughter, Shweta Bachchan Nanda, is married to industrialist Nikhil Nanda, whose grandfather was the film director Raj Kapoor. Bachchan and Bhaduri’s son, Abhishek Bachchan, is also an actor and is married to actress Aishwarya Rai.

In addition to being a father and an actor, Amitabh Bachchan devotes his time to charitable causes. In 2003 he was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

70 things which you perhaps do not know about Amitabh Bachchan

1 He has a double Master of Arts degree.

2 He wanted to become an engineer and was keen to join the Indian Air Force. 

3 He worked in Calcutta for the shipping firm Shaw & Wallace as executive and as a freight broker for Bird and Co.

4 His first salary was Rs 500.

5 It was in Calcutta that he bought a second-hand Fiat as his first car.

6 Though his surname was Shrivastava, his father had adopted the pen name Bachchan. Amitabh has stuck to this name only.

7 His actual height is 74 inches or 1.88 m, the tallest-ever top star in Hindi cinema.

8 His father considered naming him Inquilab (Revolution) before deciding on Amitabh (unending brilliance).

9 He made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome.

10 Sunil Dutt signed him for a mute's role in Reshma Aur Shera because of a letter of introduction from then PM Indira Gandhi to friend Nargis.

11 Kalyanji-Anandji helped him in his struggling days and even introduced him to Prakash Mehra.

12 During his struggling days, Amitabh Bachchan had spent a few nights on a bench at Marine Drive, Mumbai. He loves to point out to the bench every time he drives past it.

13 Director Satyajit Ray also used Bachchan's voice in his 1977 Shatranj Ke Khiladi.

14 Yet his baritone voice saw two rejections from the All India Radio. Ameen Sayani, radio ace, turned him down too in Mumbai.

15 He debuted in Saat Hindustani.

16 Mr Bachchan was paid Rs. 1,000 for his debut film where he struck a lifelong friendship with Tinnu Anand.

17 Comedian Mehmood was also a mentor to Mr Bachchan in his days of struggle and offered him place to stay in his own home.

18 The superstar has given 12 consecutive flops before his first big hit Zanjeer.

19 His favourite screen name is Vijay as seen in over 20 movies. Another common name has been Amit.

20 Big B met his future wife Jaya at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and later on the sets of Guddi.

21 Mr Bachchan married Jaya Bhaduri in 1973 after a long courtship. Eyewitnesses of their romance include actress Nadira and common mentor Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

22 Amitabh-Jaya are the only real-life couple to have starred on-screen for 30 years from Ek Nazar toKabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham - 28 years after their marriage.

23 He is the only actor to have had a minimum one jubilee a year from 1971 (Anand) to 1988 (Shahenshah). He had no release in 1987 except for a cameo in Jalwa.

24 He has played more double roles than any other actor. In Mahaan, he had a triple role.

25 He holds the record for most number of best actor nominations for popular film awards.

26 Mr Bachchan was the first choice for Shashi Kapoor's role in Utsav and Jackie's in King Uncle.

27 His last film which cast actress Nirupa Roy as his mother was Lal Baadshah in 1999.

28 He started being called Big B in late '90s after his second comeback with Mrityudaata.

29 During the shooting of Khuda Gawah, Afghani president provided Amitabh with his country's air force for protection. It was the most watched Indian film in the history of Afghanistan.

30 Big B always maintains that no Hindi actress is more beautiful than Waheeda Rahman.

31 Salim-Javed had originally written Mr India with Amitabh Bachchan in mind.

32 The song Rang barse from Silsila and some lyrics from Alaap were penned by his father, Dr. Harvanshrai Bachchan. So is the poetry in Agneepath.

33 He is the only actor to star in a remake of his own film as hero as well as villain.

34 He is a vegetarian and a teetotaler. 

35 Amitabh Bachchan is ambidextrous.

36 The Indian comic character Supremo is based on him.

37 Jaya is often heard saying, "Amitji is a loner!"

38 The first Asian actor to have a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussauds' in London. Another statue was installed in New York and Hong Kong in 2009.

39 In 2001, Amitabh Bachchan was honoured with the 'Actor of the Century' award at an Alexandria Film Festival in Egypt.

40 Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, and Marlon Brando.

41 In 2003, he was conferred with the honorary citizenship of the French town of Deauville.

42 Bruce Willis once commented, at the opening of Planet Hollywood, that Mr Bachchan was 'bigger than any Hollywood star.'

43 Was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001.

44 When he was out of work at the turn of the millennium, he called and asked Yash Chopra for a project. Mohabattein happened.

45 Has been known to suffer from asthma.

46 Also a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.

47 Despite his near-fatal accident and subsequent myasthenia gravis (a muscular disorder), Mr Bachchan performed a stunt from a height of 30 feet for a scene in Aks.

48 On October 31, 2006, he shocked the unit of Shootout at Lokhandwala by recording 23 scenes in 5 hours!

49 His daughter, Shweta, is married to Nikhil Nanda, whose mother is the late Raj Kapoor's daughter.

50 Mr Bachchan loves comfort. The flooring at his home is Italian marble, the bath fittings are from France and Germany.

51 It is said both his bungalows, Pratiksha and Jalsa, put together would be worth R 160 crore!

52 Interestingly, Jalsa was gifted to the actor.

53 Amitabh Bachchan is very fond of suits. His favourite is Gabbana. They have been designing his suits for the past 30 years.

54 The fabric is especially imported from Italy, the thread from France and buttons from England.

55 His other favourite brand is Fratelli Rossetti, with prices starting from Rs 35,000.

56 The Big B owns 11 cars, including one Lexus, two BMWs and three Mercedes.

57 His favourite is the Lexus. The car is bulletproof.

58 The car has radial tyres that are normally used for Formula 1 races. The cost of each tyre is Rs 2.5 lakh.

59 When they were young, his kids Shweta and Abhishek asked him to not come to school because it caused too much commotion.

60 The Big B has a passion for collecting watches. It is said he never repeats his watches. His favourite brand is Longines, which costs about Rs 2 lakh.

61 His other interest is collecting pens. The actor has a collection of over thousand pens. Mont Blanc gifts him a special pen every year on his birthday. 

62 Mr Bachchan loves to visit London and Switzerland.

63 In London, he prefers to stay at St James Court, five minutes from Buckingham Palace.

64 According to ad pundits, a company once paid him Rs 10 crore for 10 days. That works out to Rs 7,000 per minute!

65 He hates the word Bollywood, the word that most use to describe the Hindi film industry.

66 He also dislikes the word Beti B, coined for his granddaughter Aaradhya. He preferred to call herbitiya. Jaya, his wife, calls Aaradhya Strawberry.

67 On the 27th of July, 2012, Amitabh Bachchan was given the due honour to carry the Olympic torch during the last leg of its relay in London's Southwark.

68 Saat Hindustani is his only black-and-white film.

69 Was one of the judges for the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant.

70 When Puneet Issar punched him on the sets of Coolie, the actor first bowed to the entire crew for a perfect shot before crumpling in pain outside minutes later.