D O B October 11,1942
Languages Hindi
Place of Birth Allahabad
Known For Actor, Singer, Producer
Married Yes

Biography Amitabh Bachchan born Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan on October is an Indian film actor He first gained popularity in the early s as the angry young man of Bollywood cinema and has since become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career including three National Film Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards He holds the record for most number of Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare Awards In addition to acting Bachchan has worked as a playback singer film producer and television presenter and was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from to Born in Allahabad Uttar Pradesh Amitabh Bachchan hails from a Hindu-Sikh family His father Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a well-known Hindi poet while his mother Teji Bachchan was a Sikh-Punjabi from Faisalabad now in Pakistan Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab inspired from the famous phrase Inquilab Zindabad during the Indian independence struggle but was re-named Amitabh which means the light that would never go off Though his surname was Shrivastava his father had adopted the pen-name Bachchan under which he published all his works br br It is with this last name that Amitabh More debuted in films and for all public purposes it has become the surname of all members of his current family Amitabh is the eldest of Harivansh Rai Bachchan's two sons the second being Ajitabh His mother had a keen interest in theatre and had been offered a role in a film but preferred her domestic duties She had some degree of influence in Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that he should take the centre stage He attended Allahabad's Jnana Prabodhini and Boys' High School BHS followed by Nainital's Sherwood College where he majored in the art stream He later went on to study at Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi and completed a Bachelor of Science degree In his twenties Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm Bird and Co based in Calcutta now known as Kolkata to pursue a career in acting Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri They have two children Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek is also an actor and is married to actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made his film debut in as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani a film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt Madhu and Jalal Agha Though the film was not a financial success Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Newcomer The critically acclaimed and commercially successful Anand followed where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award Amitabh then played the role of an infatuated lover in Parwaana opposite Navin Nischol Yogeeta Bali and Om Prakash and was a rare instance of him portraying the villain This was followed by several films which were not particularly successful at the box office including Reshma Aur Shera During this time he made a guest appearance in the film Guddi which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri opposite Dharmendra Noted for his deep baritone voice early on in his career he narrated part of the film Bawarchi In he made an appearance in the road action comedy Bombay to Goa directed by S Ramanathan He starred alongside actors such as Aruna Irani Mehmood Anwar Ali and Nasir Hussain saw significant development in Bachchan's career when director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film Zanjeer as Inspector Vijay Khanna The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona amp mdash the angry young man of Bollywood cinema a reputation he was to acquire in pictures that followed it It was his first film as the leading protagonist to achieve box office success and earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor was also the year he married Jaya and around this time they appeared in several films together not only in Zanjeer but in films such as Abhimaan which followed and was released only a month after their marriage Later Bachchan played the role of Vikram in the film Namak Haraam a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship His supporting role opposite Rajesh Khanna and Rekha was praised and won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award In Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as Kunwara Baap and Dost before playing a supporting role in the highest grossing film of that year Roti Kapda Aur Makaan The film directed and written by Manoj Kumar addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship was a critical and commercial success placing Amitabh opposite Kumar himself Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman Bachchan then played the leading role in film Majboor released on December which was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag starring George Kennedy The film was only a moderate success at the box office br br In he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke the crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili However was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film Deewar opposite Shashi Kapoor Nirupa Roy and Neetu Singh which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor The film became a major hit at the box office in ranking in at number Indiatimes Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top Must See Bollywood Films Released on August was Sholay meaning flames which became the highest grossing film of all time in India earning INR equivalent to US million after adjusting for inflation Bachchan played the role of Jaidev opposite a cast which included some of the top names in the industry including Dharmendra Hema Malini Sanjeev Kumar Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan In BBC India declared it the Film of the Millennium and like Deewar has been cited by Indiatimes movies as amongst the Top Must See Bollywood Films In that same year the judges of the th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with the special distinction award called Filmfare Best Film of Years After the success of films such as Sholay at the box office Bachchan had now consolidated his position in the industry and from through to would receive an unprecedented number of Filmfare Best Actor Award Awards and nominations Although films such as Sholay cemented his status as Bollywood's pre-eminent action hero Bachchan illustrated that he was flexible in other roles successfully playing comic timing in comedies such as Chupke Chupke and Amar Akbar Anthony and romantic lead in films such as Kabhie Kabhie In he was once again cast by director Yash Chopra in his second film Kabhi Kabhie a romantic tale in which Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja played by actress Rakhee Gulzar The emotional eclectic of the dialogue and softness of the subject matter proved a direct contrast to some of Amitabh's earlier grittier action pictures and those he would later go on to play The film saw him again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award and was a box office success In he won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony where he played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves br br was possibly the most accoladed year of his career and he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year He once again resumed double roles in films such as Kasme Vaade as Amit and Shankar and Don playing the characters of Don a leader of an underworld gang and his look alike Vijay His performance won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award and considerable critical acclaim as with his performances in Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikander which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations On account of this unprecedented run and success he encountered at this stage in his career he was billed a one-man industry by the French director Fran Truffaut