Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan (born 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, playback singer, and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and commercially successful actors in Indian film history, with more than 200 films to his credit. Over the decades, he has earned numerous nicknames, including "the Angry Young Man," the Shahenshah of Bollywood, Sadi ke Mahanayak (meaning "superstar of the century"), Bollywood's Star of the Millennium, and simply Big B. His stronghold on the industry during the 1970s and 1980s prompted French director François Truffaut to call him a "one-man industry."

Bachchan has received several major honors, including seven National Film Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards, along with one South Filmfare award. He was born in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) and educated at Sherwood College in Nainital, Uttarakhand, and Kirori Mal College at the University of Delhi. His film career began in 1969 when he provided voice narration for Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s with films such as Anand, Zanjeer, Namak Haraam, and Roti Kapda Aur Makaan.

His on-screen roles during this period earned him the "Angry Young Man" label. From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, he consistently starred in major box-office hits, including 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. Among his most acclaimed performances are those in 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 users voted him the "greatest star of stage or screen" in the Your Millennium poll. Time magazine described him in October 2003 as the undisputed godfather of Bollywood. After stepping back from acting in the 1990s, Bachchan made a strong comeback in 2000 with Mohabbatein. He then appeared in a string of successful and critically praised films, including 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 had a role in the Hollywood film The Great Gatsby (2013), playing a non-Indian Jewish character. Bachchan holds a record four National Film Awards in the Best Actor category and has won awards at international film festivals. He has won sixteen Filmfare Awards and holds the record for the most nominations in a major acting category at Filmfare, with 34 nominations for Best Actor and 42 overall. The Government of India 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 honored him with its highest civilian award, the Officer of the Legion of Honour, in 2007. Beyond acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer, and television presenter. He has hosted multiple seasons of the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He also briefly entered politics in the 1980s.

He has been involved in humanitarian work and is a prominent brand endorser in India. His popularity extends beyond the subcontinent to large overseas audiences among the South Asian diaspora and others in Africa (South Africa, Eastern Africa, Mauritius), the Middle East (especially Egypt and the UAE), the United Kingdom, Russia, Central Asia, the Caribbean (Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago), Oceania (Fiji, Australia, New Zealand), Canada, and the United States.

Bachchan was born on 11 October 1942 in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) to Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and social activist Teji Bachchan. His father was an Awadhi Hindu Kayastha fluent in Awadhi, Hindi, and Urdu, whose ancestors came from the village of Babupatti in Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh. His mother was a Punjabi Sikh Khatri from Lyallpur, Punjab, British India (now Faisalabad, Pakistan). Bachchan has a younger brother, Ajitabh, who is five years his junior.

His parents initially planned to name him Inquilaab (Hindustani for "Revolution"), inspired by the phrase Inquilab Zindabad from the independence struggle. The name Amitabh was suggested to his father by poet Sumitranandan Pant. Though his family surname was Srivastava, his father—who opposed the caste system—adopted the pen name Bachchan (meaning "child-like" in colloquial Hindi) for his published works. When enrolling Amitabh in school, his parents decided to use Bachchan as the family surname, which he has used in films and for all practical purposes; it has become the surname for his entire immediate family.

His father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007. Bachchan attended Boys' High School & College in Allahabad and Sherwood College in Nainital for his secondary education. 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 and patriarch of the Kapoor family.