One October 11th 1942, in Pre-Independent India, a son was born to Harivansh Rai and Teji Bachchan. Harivansh Rai Bachchan is remembered as a freedom fighter and someone who revolutionised Hindi poetry.
Fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant suggested the name Amitabh to him little knowing that one day the name would be on the lips of people around the world.
In his book, Hindi Names for Children (2006), Dr.O.N.Gangoo provides this definition for Amitabh – “boundless lustre”. Sumitranandan Pant could not have been more prophetic. It is also another name of Lord Buddha.
He was educated at the Boys’ High School and college in Allahabad, his birthplace, before joining Sherwood college in picturesque Nainital. Amitabh Bachchan then joined Kirori Mal college, University of Delhi. He was awarded a Bachelor of science degree in 1962.
Once Amitabh had completed his studies, Harivansh Rai Bachchan approached Prithviraj Kapoor, the patriarch of the Kapoor family and founder of Prithvi Theatre, to see if there could be an opening for his son. He received no encouragement.
Amitabh Bachchan applied for the post of newscaster for All India Radio. In his autobiography, In the Afternoon of Time (2001), Harivansh Rai Bachchan writes matter of factly “he failed the audition”. He then became a business executive for Bird & Company in Kolkata and worked in the theatre before starting his film career. The beginning was laborious. It is said that Amitabh’s brother, Ajitabh, younger to him by five years, also wanted to join the film industry. His mother, Teji, advised him not to do so. She is quoted to have said that if Amitabh, despite his talent, was experiencing difficulties, the way would be fraught with greater challenges for him.
Amitabh Bachchan made his film debut in 1969, as a narrator in Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome which won the National Award.
His First Role
In his book, Bombay, My Bombay (1987), Khwaja Ahmad Abbas reveals Bombay in all its variegated colours in the form of a literary piece. The episode as to how Amitabh Bachchan was introduced in his Saat Hindustani (1969) is mentioned in the chapter which bears the title “Amit- The Seventh Indian”. Among other things, K.A. Abbas mentions, “ …… it was the triumvirate of Tinu Anand, Jalal Agha, with their friend, Ajitabh Bachchan, that brought the talent of Amitabh Bachchan to my notice. He had some time before, been to Bombay and seen all leading producers but was rejected as too tall, too thin, non-photogenic and generally unsuitable for a film-break!”
He was shown a photograph of the aspiring actor who he describes as “the tallest actor I had yet seen in Indian Cinema”. However, he corresponded with the idea around which he had conceived the seventh Indian. According to the script, he had to be “Very tall, thin like the late Majaz, must have a good voice, must have good pronunciation of Urdu, specially good for reciting Urdu verses and Sheirs.
After securing permission from Harivansh Rai Bachchan who replied, “It is good if Amitabh is in your film”, he got his first role. In the words of K.A. Abbas, “It was the beginning of the story- the legend- of Amitabh Bachchan”. He was often asked if he imagined that Amitabh would one day be so successful an actor and his reply inevitably was “I frankly admit that I couldn’t. But I knew he was a fine actor”.
In the course of 1971, he could be seen in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand, Ravikant Nagaich’s Pyar Ki Kahani, N.C. Sippy’s Parwana and Sunil Dutt’s Reshma Aur Shera. Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of a doctor in Anand. In Pyar Ki Kahani and Parwana he plays second fiddle to Anil Dhawan and Navin Nischol respectively. He has a brief though significant role in Reshma Aur Shera.
In 1972, he made an appearance in Bombay to Goa directed by S. Ramanathan. It was a moderate success. He played the first of his double roles in Bande Hath (1973). Bachchan was soon discovered by the then duo Salim-Javed comprising Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. Salim Khan wrote the story, screenplay and script of Zanjeer (1973). To him also goes the credit of conceiving the ‘angry young man’ persona. Director Prakash Mehra appreciated the script and saw in it ingredients which would appeal to an Indian audience. They could not find a hero easily. The lead role was turned down by many actors as it was the antithesis of the ‘romantic hero’ image which was then prevalent in the industry.
Ideal Casting for Zanjeer
Salim-Javed soon discovered Bachchan. According to Salim Khan, they “strongly felt that Amitabh was the perfect ideal casting for Zanjeer”. He introduced Bachchan to Prakash Mehra and the duo insisted that he should be cast for the role.
Zanjeer is a crime film with violent action in sharp contrast to the romantic films that generally preceeded it. In their book, Indian Popular Cinema – a narrative of Cultural Change, (1998) K. Moti Gokulsing and Vimal Dissanayake mention “Many critics have commented on the gratuitous scenes of violence and gory deaths which have characterised the Indian popular cinema since the 1970s. This period saw the rise of Amitabh Bachchan as the ‘angry young man’ who went on to become the last of superstars and, according to the Indian press, a colossus who may not be seen again. It marked a decisive break with the past”.
The love triangle no more occupied the centrepiece in many of the films of the 1970s and early 1980s. Amitabh Bachchan does not have time for speeches. “Using his height and his voice to full advantage, he concentrated on what the plot required him to do – generally to settle a score or redress an injustice. Violence reached its apogée in Sholay (Flames,1975), a film which has become a legend”. Amitabh Bachchan was no more the avenger in search of justice but a mercenary, selling his prowess as a killer for a price. K. Moti Gokulsing and Vimal Dissanayake also write, “One of the reasons for the enormous success of the Amitabh Bachchan films is that the 1970s were a period of deep crisis in India. Among them feature urban crime, spiralling inflation, corrupt and sectarian politics. The situation was so chaotic that Mrs. Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, imposed a State of Emergency in 1975”. The masses were looking for a hero to put things right and Amitabh Bachchan “fitted the bill perfectly”. His height, his voice and his eyes came to epitomise the angry young man’s quest for vengence and justice. He mesmerized an audience which clung to his lips in films like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Don (1978), and Silsila (1981). His memorable role in Deewaar (1975) draws its inspiration from the life of a well-known smuggler in Mumbai. Other memorabilia of his include Trishul, Kaala Pattar, Abhimaan, Namak Haram, Kasme Vaade, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Ganga ki Saugandh, Besharam, Suhag, Mr Natwarlal, The Great Gambler, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, and Major Saheb. 
Then, as age began to take its toll, he started playing the elder figure or the family patriarch. He is remembered for his roles in Baghban (2003), Black (2005), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Cheeni kum (2007), The last Lear, Piku and Paa. In 2013 he played the role of a non-Indian Jewish character, Meyer Wolfsheim, in The Great Gatsby, the acclaimed novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald which was adapted for the screen by Baz Luhrmann.
A Life Dedicated to Others
Amitabh Bachchan’s life has not been limited to films and his family. He joined politics at some time. He has taken an active part in many social and humanitarian issues. Among the many awards he has received is the Knight of the Legion of Honour which the French Government conferred upon him for “his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond”.
On July 26, 1982, while enacting a fight scene for Coolie, Bachchan, who was performing his own stunts, sustained an intestinal injury which threatened his life. He recovered and returned to films playing the lead role in Shahenshah.
When India celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence, the popular magazine India Today published a special issue dated August 18, 1997. Amitabh is quoted to have mentioned inter alia, “If I had to make a film about the last 50 years of India, the story would start off in a small town, Allahabad, where I was born, and trace the travel of this individual from a lower middle-class family, making his way in this modern, upbeat, fast-moving Mumbai”. This is Amitabh Bachchan in a nutshell.
On this auspicious day, as per tradition, we join our voice to the chorus from all parts of the world to wish Mr. Amitabh Bachchan a Happy Birthday and many more.
