The One And Only Amitabh Bachchan@80: His Blockbuster Life

Amitabh Bachchan@80, still commands star billing and has audiences and directors vying for him

Actor, singer, game-show host and ne-time politician Amitabh Bachchan remains, at 80, India's uber-celeb. He still commands star billing and has audiences and directors vying for him. On social, he is one of India's most followed film stars. And yet, when he quit his job with shipping firm Bird & Co. in Kolkata and moved to Mumbai with stars in his eyes, prospects seemed bleak for the tall, dark but not traditionally handsome young man. Armed with a letter of introduction from no less a person than Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was close friends with his mother Teji, Amitabh Bachchan was cast as a Muslim poet and prisoner of war in the nationalistic Saat Hindustani (1969). The lanky young would-be actor was turned down repeatedly in favour of heroes like Rajesh Khanna. His most singular asset, a deep booming baritone voice, was put to good use by directors and producers in films like Bhuvan Shome and Bawarchi but leading roles were rare.

Amitabh Bachchan's third film, Anand (1971), fetched him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor for his sensitive performance as an idealistic doctor. Through 1971 and 1972, he appeared in a clutch of mostly forgettable films, the most notable of which was Bombay To Goa co-starring Aruna Irani and Shatrughan Sinha. But it was not until 1973's Zanjeer that Mr Bachchan struck box office gold. Zanjeer co-starred future wife Jaya Bhaduri, who signed on for the role after it was rejected by several leading actresses who did not want to appear with a "flop actor." The superhit Zanjeer marked the rise of the Angry Young Man, as Amitabh Bachchan's explosive, brooding, action-hero persona came to be known. With Zanjeer, the romantic lover boy, as personified by reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna, was dislodged from the top of the charts by the vengeful vigilante almost overnight.

Zanjeer was also the first film in which Amitabh Bachchan's character was called Vijay, a name that would stick. He used it in several subsequent films, including the big critical and commercial hit that followed Zanjeer - Deewar.

While the Angry Young Man was a role that Amitabh Bachchan would play often, from 1975's seminal Deewar to 1978's Trishuland 1990's Agneepath (in which he was frankly no longer young), he was equally competent in action films flavoured with a generous dollop of humour. In the landmark Sholay, in which he played one half of a pair of mercenaries for hire, many of the film's best loved one liners and comic moments belonged to his character, the taciturn Jai, rather than the more flamboyant Veeru, played by Dharmendra. Big B combined his flailing fists with a flair for fun in films like Amar Akbar Anthony, Do Aur Do Paanch, Shaan, Naseeb, Satte Pe Satta and Namak Halaal.