Amitabh Bachchan At 80 - The Rejected Struggler Who Became Bollywood's ‘Shahenshah'

Amitabh Bachchan, the living legend of the Indian film industry, is celebrating his 80th birthday on Tuesday (October 11). The star who has given us countless classics in his life has dominated Bollywood since the 1970s.

Without a tiniest bit of doubt, Amitabh is the most loved and admired actor to have ever lived. As someone whose career has spanned over several decades, the actor has overshadowed his peers and contemporaries alike. Amitabh Bachchan is not just a star, but a living legend of Indian cinema. If you ask anybody living in the remotest corners of India, there wouldn't be a single soul who doesn't recognise him or hasn't seen his films.

While India has witnessed many successful thespians and stars who have enjoyed insane popularity, nobody has sailed the course for so long. He has outshone the rest and is still going strong. In a career spanning over 53 years, Amitabh is the only actor of his time who has not bid goodbye to the camera. The actor has, with his choice of films, impressed even the present generation. With the passage of time and decades, he has experimented with various roles and expanded his horizons.

Style And On-Screen Aura

"Aaj mere paas bangla hai, gaadi hai, bank balance hai, tumhare paas kya hai?"

Bachchan's serious demeanour and the intensity in his eyes have been his biggest strength for the characters he portrayed. His voice added an extra punch to the famous dialogues written for his roles. The actor had a different running style that was captured for most of his action films. While he did not limit himself to only action and fights, he has played a variety of roles ranging from comedy to romance to thriller.

The Struggle

But Bachchan's journey to fame had its own fair share of tribulations and heartbreaks. The early days of Bachchan in the film industry could make up for quite a rags to riches story. He was homeless and faced constant rejection for being "too tall" and "too thin". Before entering Bollywood, Bachchan tested the waters of being a radio presenter at All India Radio but was rejected for his heavy baritone.

Amitabh Bachchan's first stint in Bollywood was not as an actor but as a voice-over artist for a small-budget movie titled Bhuvan Shome (1969). His first break as an actor was in Saat Hindustani, which was released in the same year. It failed at the box-office, as did many of his films during that period, like Reshma Aur Shera, Bansi Birju, and others.

The Fame

The dejected young man was determined to quit his dreams of the celluloid world and was ready to return to Calcutta, but it was Prakash Mehra and duo Salim-Javed's script for Zanjeer, one of Bollywood's most iconic films, which established Amitabh in the league of superstars. This 1973 film was a blockbuster and gave birth to India's "angry young man," and the rest is history.

Prakash Mehra not only gave Bachchan his first hit film, but also added a prototype name for his character, Vijay, that got attached to him in several other movies. Vijay means victory, and the name, thus, has brought many successful films in his lifespan.

India during the 70s was tumultuous. After the imposition of the emergency, there was political unrest and fierce agitation against the government, mass unemployment, and labour protests that shattered the post-independence dreams of the country.

At such times of crisis, Salim-Javed's angry young man who fought against social illnesses resonated heavily with the audience. The character that made Bachchan a symbolic representation of the frustrated Indian middle class was essentially an urban man, born and raised in the slums, who is a victim of societal illness and challenges authority. It was again with Salim-Javed's script and Yash Chopra's directorial venture, Deewar, that Vijay's persona got amplified through an intense performance that has never been witnessed by the Indian audience.

His popularity since then has kept on increasing. Big B, as he is called fondly by fans, delivered hugely successful films in a line such as Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Naseeb, Amar Akbar Anthony, Trishul, Mr NatwarLal, Don, Shaan, Suhaag, Dostana, Lawaaris, Shanti, and Kala Patthar, among others.

The Downfall

However, towards the latter half of the 1980s, his career started taking a hit. In the 1990s, the star delivered a slew of forgettable works such as Toofan, Jaadugar, Aaaj Ka Arjun, and others. During this time, he unsuccessfully dabbled in politics and ventured into film production, which pushed his family into bankruptcy. During the two decades, he delivered only a handful of hits: Agneepath, Hum, and Bade Miya Chote Miya.

With the emergence of a new generation of stars and several flops, Bachchan's lustre was lost. Following these catastrophic failures, Bachchan resurrected himself at the beginning of the millennium with Sony's popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati and regained his touch with the audience. The show is still going on.

The Resurgence

Life's lows and failures have taught the actor humility, and here he is, today, living a life larger than any other actor. In the second innings of his career, the actor bounced back and has been delivering some exceptional work, be it movies, voice overs, narrations with his trademark voice, brand endorsements and playback singing.

The megastar has never stopped being in action. He has given remarkable and memorable performances in the last two decades in experimental cinema, such as Black, Cheeni Kum, Paa, Piku, Pink, Wazir, 102 Not Out, and many more. He already has several films lined up, while his recently released Goodbye has been garnering praise from all corners.

Amitabh Bachchan is just not limited to being an artist or a star. Over time, he has reinvented himself with unusual roles and kept entertaining us with his exceptional screen presence and talent. It is not only his career but also his real-life family values that have brought him closer to the audience. The man is, therefore, more than a superstar in a film-frenzied country.