Oct 11, 2022
By: Shradha AnejaBorn on October 11, 1942, Amitabh Bachchan is a mega star who is known as the Big B of Bollywood. He has worked as an actor, film producer, television host and an occasional playback singer. He overcame all odds and to become the ‘Shehenshah’ of the Hindi film industry.
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Amitabh Bachchan's famous last name has an interesting story. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a popular poet, opposed the caste system. He adopted his pen name, Bachchan as the surname instead of Shrivastava – which he passed on to his children.
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Before getting into acting, Amitabh Bachchan used to work as a business executive for Bird & Company in Kolkata and performed in theatre.
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Bachchan started his acting career with Saat Hindustani in 1969. He also made his Hollywood debut as a minor character in The Great Gatsby in 2013.
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Bachchan was a former member of Lok Sabha. He joined politics for three years, from 1984 to 1987. He entered politics to support family friend Rajiv Gandhi who was the Prime Minister of the country between 1984-89.
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After tasting many successes, at the age of 30, Amitabh Bachchan faced various downfalls with 12 flops and only two hits. He went through a dark phase in his life when his company ABCL went bankrupt in 1999.During his shooting of the film Coolie, he also suffered from a major injury and went into a coma albeit for a short period of time.
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While Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha's relationship made headlines, the actor also faced many controversies during his career. The angry young man of Bollywood is also known for his short temper, as described by Karan Thapar in his book, Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story.
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Even after all the tough times, Bachchan worked towards improving his fortunes. He reached out to Yash Chopra and did a film named Mohabbatein. He also made his TV debut with popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati which brought him back success along with a new generation of fans.
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He won five National awards and 16 Filmfare awards. Also, he has been awarded Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He was the first actor to win the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
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He played a pivotal role in the recently released Brahmastra. His most recent movie is 'Goodbye' was released on October 7, 2022. He also has two more films in the pipeline – Uunchai and Ganapath.
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Bachchan is also known for his various philanthropic activities. He was also made a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for the polio Eradication Campaign in India in 2002.
Credit: UNICEF