Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan (born Srivastava on 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, playback singer, and producer whose work is mainly in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished, commercially successful, and significant actors in Indian film history, with more than 200 films to his credit. During the 1970s and 1980s, his hold on the industry was so strong that French director François Truffaut called him a "one-man industry."

Bachchan was born in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) to Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a Hindi poet, and Teji Bachchan, a social activist. His father was an Awadhi Hindu Kayastha from the village of Babupatti in Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, and his mother was a Punjabi Sikh Khatri from Lyallpur (now Faisalabad, Pakistan). He has a younger brother, Ajitabh. His parents initially planned to name him Inquilaab, after the independence-era slogan "Inquilab Zindabad," but poet Sumitranandan Pant suggested the name Amitabh. Although the family surname was Srivastava, his father—who opposed the caste system—adopted the pen name Bachchan for his writings. When Amitabh needed to be enrolled in school, his parents decided to use Bachchan as the family name, and he has used it ever since. His father died in 2003, his mother in 2007.

Bachchan attended Boys' High School & College in Allahabad and Sherwood College in Nainital. He then studied at Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962. After finishing his studies, his father approached Prithviraj Kapoor, founder of Prithvi Theatre.

His film career began in 1969 when he provided voice narration for Mrinal Sen's *Bhuvan Shome*. He gained early popularity in the early 1970s with films like *Anand*, *Zanjeer*, *Namak Haraam*, and *Roti Kapda Aur Makaan*. He became known as the "Angry Young Man" for his on-screen roles and dominated Hindi cinema from the mid-1970s through the 1980s, starring in major hits such as *Deewaar*, *Sholay*, *Kabhi Kabhie*, *Hera Pheri*, *Amar Akbar Anthony*, *Parvarish*, *Trishul*, *Don*, *Muqaddar Ka Sikandar*, *Kasme Vaade*, *Suhaag*, *Kaala Patthar*, *Dostana*, *Naseeb*, *Lawaaris*, *Namak Halaal*, *Khud-Daar*, *Coolie*, *Andhaa Kanoon*, *Sharaabi*, and *Mard*. His acclaimed performances include *Majboor*, *Chupke Chupke*, *Mili*, *Do Anjaane*, *Alaap*, *The Great Gambler*, *Shaan*, *Barsaat Ki Ek Raat*, *Silsila*, *Kaalia*, *Satte Pe Satta*, *Bemisal*, *Shakti*, *Aakhree Raasta*, and *Shahenshah*. In 1999, BBC's Your Millennium online poll voted him the "greatest star of stage or screen." *Time* magazine called him the undisputed godfather of Bollywood in October 2003.

After a break from acting in the 1990s, he made a strong comeback in 2000 with *Mohabbatein*. He then starred in successful and acclaimed films like *Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham*, *Aankhen*, *Baghban*, *Veer-Zaara*, *Khakee*, *Black*, *Sarkar*, *Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna*, *Cheeni Kum*, *Paa*, *Piku*, *Pink*, *Badla*, *Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva*, and *Kalki 2898 AD*. He also appeared in the Hollywood film *The Great Gatsby* (2013), playing a non-Indian Jewish character.

Bachchan has won many awards, including a record four National Film Awards for Best Actor and numerous international festival honors. He has won sixteen Filmfare Awards and holds the record for most nominations in a major acting category at Filmfare, with 34 for Best Actor and 42 overall. The Indian government awarded him the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001, the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2018. France gave him its highest civilian honor, Officer of the Legion of Honour, in 2007.

Beyond acting, he has worked as a playback singer, film producer, and television presenter. He has hosted several seasons of *Kaun Banega Crorepati*, the Indian version of *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?*. He briefly entered politics in the 1980s. He is involved in humanitarian work and is a prominent brand endorser in India. He has a large overseas following among the South Asian diaspora and others in Africa, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Russia, Central Asia, the Caribbean, Oceania, Canada, and the United States.