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Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan

Net Worth

$400,000,000

Born in (City)

Allahabad

Born in (Country)

India

Date of Birth

11th December, 1942

Date of Death

-

Mother

Teji Bachchan

Father

Harivansh Rai Bachchan

Children

  • Abhishek Bachchan

About

Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian actor, film producer, television show host, playback singer, and a former politician. He is one of the legendary actors in Indian Cinema. He has acted in over 200 movies and still continues to mesmerize the world with his apt choice of work. The journey of Amitabh Bachchan becoming the Shahenshah of Bollywood wasn’t easy. Let's have a look at how he paved his way straight to success.

Early Life

Amitabh Bachchan was born in Prayagraj (Allahabad) on 11 October 1942. His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a seasoned poet in Awadhi, Hindi, and Urdu. His mother Teji Bachchan was a Social Activist. He was named Inquilaab Srivastava initially, however with a suggestion from a fellow poet his father renamed him as Amitabh. His father’s pen name was Bachchan, which later he started using as a surname. Incidentally, His younger brother is also named Amitabh. He completed his schooling in Sherwood College Nainital and a degree from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. His mother was interested in acting. She was offered some roles to act, but she insisted on taking care of the family. It was because of his mother he really developed an interest in acting, as she always encouraged him to try acting.

Road to Success

He started his career as a voice narrator in the 1969 movie Bhuvan Shome. His first movie as an actor was Saat Hindustani, released in 1969, he was one among the seven heroes. In 1971 he acted in Anand, co-starring Rajesh Khanna. Bachchan got his first Filmfare award for his role in Anand as a supporting actor. He acted in Bombay to Goa in 1972 and it was a moderate hit. Apart from this he also had acted in a bunch of other movies that were all failed miserably at the box office. This series of failures made him think about whether to go back to Calcutta itself where he used to work before acting. However, Salim- Javed made Zanjeer with Amitabh Bachchan as the lead star in 1973 and it was doing magical numbers at the box office. It was an all-out action film, no other actor was ready to play the lead in that movie as people only made love stories at that time. This made them offer the role to Amitabh Bachchan. His performance in Zanjeer gained him the title "Angry Young Man". Zanjeer made Amitabh Bachchan a bankable hero in Bollywood. Salim and Javed also worked with Bachchan in two other blockbuster cult movies Deewar and Sholay in 1975. And with this Amitabh Bachchan went on to act in some of the greatest movies of Indian Cinema.

Challenges

Before you make it to the top, one has to have experienced all the steps of a ladder; and such is the story of our star Amitabh as well. Here are some key points that cover some of the most important challenges he had to face. ● Back in the days when he had begun to pursue acting as a career, He had to resort to sleeping on the roadsides of Marine drive in Mumbai as he had no other place to stay. ● Having experienced a near-death accident in 1982 during the shoot of his famous movie 'Coolie', his doctors and close blood lost hopes. But he astonishingly made a full recovery, and the accident seems long forgotten with good health now. ● Amitabh Bachchan has had a tumultuous life or at least a fair share of it with having to deal with constant health issues. Another ailment that struck the superstar was Myasthenia Gravis, which reportedly makes one feel weak and the person suffering from it tends to lose the strength to keep his head up and hence results in dropping his head. An issue that plagued him in February 2012, but has been cured since. ● Another one of his personal life issues that seemed to turn heads and did cause abrupt chaos and ruckus amidst his family was the close relations that Amitabh held with Rekha. Them working together was disliked and frowned upon by his wife Jaya Bachchan, so much so, she forbade him from working with Rekha to which he did comply.

Failures

- Today people love him for his deep baritone voice. But did you know that he was rejected by All India Radio because they didn’t like his voice?!! -Prior to Zanjeer, his twelve consecutive movies were failures. -Post-1988, his movies didn’t go well and he stopped acting in movies for a few years. - In the 1990s, he started producing movies under the banner ABCL which ultimately resulted in bankruptcy. But he bounced back with Kaun Banega Crorepati, and movies like Mohabattein and Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham. Today he is still in the race with the new age actors and giving them tight competition regardless of the age factor. So what do we learn from him? Constant rejections and failures, financial crisis, deteriorating health conditions, nothing can come in between us and our journey to success if we are passionate and work really hard with perseverance.

Achievements

Won Padma Shri Award in 1984.|Won Padma Bhusan Award in 2001|Knight of the Legion of Honour – France’s highest civilian honour from the Government of France for his “exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond” in 2007|Won Padma Vibhushan Award in 2015|National Film Award: Best Actor Award for the film Agneepath by the President of India in 1990.|National Film Award: Best Actor Award for the film Black by the President of India in 2005.|National Film Award: Best Actor Award for the film Paa by the President of India in 2009.|National Film Award: Best Actor Award for the film Piku by the President of India in 2015.

Quotes

  • “Bad luck either destroys you or makes you the man or woman you really are”
  • “Make your own choices in light of your own wisdom.”
  • “No one is perfect, and criticism is always welcome and expected.”
  • “Everyone must accept that we will age and age is not always flattering.”