161-460: Amitabh Bachchan ( pronounced [əmɪˈt̪ɑːbʱ ˈbətːʃən] ; born Amitabh Srivastava ; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema . He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema . With a cinematic career spanning over five decades, he has played pivotal roles in over 200 films . Bachchan
322-573: A parallel cinema movement. Although the movement (emphasising social realism ) was led by Bengali cinema , it also began gaining prominence in Hindi cinema. Early examples of parallel cinema include Dharti Ke Lal (1946), directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on the Bengal famine of 1943 , Neecha Nagar (1946) directed by Chetan Anand and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953). Their critical acclaim and
483-537: A vigilante or anti-hero whose suppressed rage voiced the anguish of the urban poor. Hindi films have been a significant form of soft power for India, increasing its influence and changing overseas perceptions of India. In Germany , Indian stereotypes included bullock carts , beggars, sacred cows, corrupt politicians, and catastrophes before Bollywood and the IT industry transformed global perceptions of India. According to author Roopa Swaminathan, "Bollywood cinema
644-523: A Hong Kong remake, The Brothers (1979), which inspired John Woo 's internationally acclaimed breakthrough A Better Tomorrow (1986); the latter was a template for Hong Kong action cinema 's heroic bloodshed genre. "Angry young man" 1970s epics such as Deewaar and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) also resemble the heroic-bloodshed genre of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema. The influence of filmi may be seen in popular music worldwide. Technopop pioneers Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto of
805-505: A break from acting in the 1990s, his resurgence was marked in 2000 with Mohabbatein . Since then he starred in several successful and acclaimed films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham , Aankhen , Baghban , Khakee , Black , Bunty Aur Babli , Sarkar , Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna , Bhoothnath , Cheeni Kum , Paa , Piku , Pink , Badla , Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva and Kalki 2898 AD . For Piku , he won his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor , making him
966-442: A colour version of Mother India . However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were cinematic staples. The decade of the 1940s saw an expansion of Bombay cinema's commercial market and its presence in the national consciousness. The year 1943 saw the arrival of Indian cinema's first 'blockbuster' offering, the movie Kismet , which grossed in excess of
1127-532: A consulting company in the U.S. Recently they made their first overseas investment in Ziddu.com, a cloud-based content distribution platform. Bachchan was named in the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers , leaked confidential documents relating to offshore investment . In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of a long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi . He contested
1288-501: A contemporary urban context and anguished urban poor. By the mid-1970s, romantic confections had given way to gritty, violent crime films and action films about gangsters (the Bombay underworld ) and bandits ( dacoits ). Salim-Javed's writing and Amitabh Bachchan's acting popularised the trend with films such as Zanjeer and (particularly) Deewaar , a crime film inspired by Gunga Jumna which pitted "a policeman against his brother,
1449-590: A film of scenes from that show, The Flower of Persia (1898). The Wrestlers (1899) by H. S. Bhatavdekar showed a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay . Dadasaheb Phalke 's silent film Raja Harishchandra (1913) is the first feature-length film made in India. The film, being silent, had English , Marathi , and Hindi -language intertitles . By the 1930s, the Indian film industry as
1610-497: A gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan " (Bachchan); according to Danny Boyle , Deewaar was "absolutely key to Indian cinema". In addition to Bachchan, several other actors followed by riding the crest of the trend (which lasted into the early 1990s). Actresses from the era include Hema Malini , Jaya Bachchan , Raakhee , Shabana Azmi , Zeenat Aman , Parveen Babi , Rekha , Dimple Kapadia , Smita Patil , Jaya Prada and Padmini Kolhapure . The name "Bollywood"
1771-664: A gap of 27 years. In 2019, Bachchan appeared in Sujoy Ghosh 's mystery thriller Badla . The film did a lifetime business of ₹ 1.38 billion (equivalent to ₹ 1.7 billion or US$ 21 million in 2023) worldwide to emerge a box office hit. The following year, he co-starred alongside Ayushmann Khurana in Shoojit Sircar 's comedy drama Gulabo Sitabo , which opened to critical acclaim & won him Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) . He then collaborated with Emraan Hashmi for Chehre (2021), which
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#17327917585251932-546: A genre of dacoit films , in turn defined by Gunga Jumna (1961). Written and produced by Dilip Kumar, Gunga Jumna was a dacoit crime drama about two brothers on opposite sides of the law (a theme which became common in Indian films during the 1970s). Some of the best-known epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at this time, such as K. Asif 's Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Other acclaimed mainstream Hindi filmmakers during this period included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt . The three most popular male Indian actors of
2093-530: A global presence". Scholar Brigitte Schulze has written that Indian films, most notably Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957), played a key role in shaping the Republic of India 's national identity in the early years after independence from the British Raj ; the film conveyed a sense of Indian nationalism to urban and rural citizens alike. Bollywood has long influenced Indian society and culture as
2254-783: A good film is generally referred to as paisa vasool , (literally "money's worth"). Songs, dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills are combined in a three-hour show (with an intermission). These are called masala films , after the Hindi word for a spice mixture. Like masalas , they are a mixture of action, comedy and romance; most have heroes who can fight off villains single-handedly. Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic , frequently using formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers, angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, political corruption, kidnapping, villains, kind-hearted courtesans , long-lost relatives and siblings, reversals of fortune and serendipity . Parallel cinema films tended to be less popular at
2415-425: A guest appearance in the film Guddi which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri . He narrated part of the film Bawarchi . In 1972, he made an appearance in the road action comedy Bombay to Goa directed by S. Ramanathan which was moderately successful. Many of Bachchan's films during this early period did not do well. His only film with Mala Sinha , Sanjog (1972) was also a box office failure. Bachchan
2576-749: A large overseas following of the South Asian diaspora , as well as others, in markets including Africa (South Africa, Eastern Africa, and Mauritius ), the Middle East (especially Egypt and the UAE ), the United Kingdom, Russia, Central Asia, the Caribbean ( Guyana , Suriname , and Trinidad and Tobago ), Oceania ( Fiji , Australia, and New Zealand), Canada and the United States. Bachchan
2737-417: A long and successful association, alongside Prakash Mehra and Yash Chopra . Eventually, Bachchan became one of the most successful leading men of the film industry. His portrayal of the wronged hero fighting a crooked system and circumstances of deprivation in films like Zanjeer , Deewaar , Trishul , Kaala Patthar and Shakti resonated with the masses of the time, especially the youth who harboured
2898-429: A major commercial failure in addition to its poor critical reception. The year also marked Bachchan's first appearance in an English-language film, Rituparno Ghosh 's The Last Lear , co-starring Arjun Rampal and Preity Zinta . The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2007. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best since Black . Bachchan
3059-464: A major influence. During the early 20th century, Urdu was the lingua franca of popular cultural performance across northern India and established in popular performance art traditions such as nautch dancing, Urdu poetry , and Parsi theater. Urdu and related Hindi dialects were the most widely understood across northern India, and Hindustani became the standard language of early Indian talkies. Films based on " Persianate adventure-romances" led to
3220-533: A massive blockbuster, followed by superhits, Sharaabi (1984) and Geraftaar (1985), a hit film, Aakhree Raasta (1986) and an average fare in Inquilaab (1984) to go with the major grossers. After a three-year stint in politics from 1984 to 1987, Bachchan returned to films in 1988, playing the title role in Tinnu Anand 's vigilante action film Shahenshah , which opened to bumper response all over
3381-402: A new generation of popular actors, including the three Khans : Aamir Khan , Shah Rukh Khan , and Salman Khan , who have starred in most of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films . The Khans and have had successful careers since the late 1980s and early 1990s, and have dominated the Indian box office for three decades. Shah Rukh Khan was the most successful Indian actor for most of
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#17327917585253542-573: A place among the top 10 in his illustrious career." Rachel Saltz wrote for The New York Times , "Piku", an offbeat Hindi comedy, would have you contemplate the intestines and mortality of one Bhashkor Banerji and the actor who plays him, Amitabh Bachchan. Bhashkor's life and conversation may revolve around his constipation and fussy hypochondria, but there's no mistaking the scene-stealing energy that Mr. Bachchan, India's erstwhile Angry Young Man, musters for his new role of Cranky Old Man." Well known Indian critic Rajeev Masand wrote on his website, "Bachchan
3703-472: A playback singer, film producer, and television presenter. He has hosted several seasons of the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati , India's version of the game show franchise, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? . He also entered politics for a time in the 1980s. Bachchan has also been involved in several humanitarian works and he is a leading brand endorser in India. Beyond the Indian subcontinent , he acquired
3864-746: A popular genre of " Arabian Nights cinema". Scholars Chaudhuri Diptakirti and Rachel Dwyer and screenwriter Javed Akhtar identify Urdu literature as a major influence on Hindi cinema. Most of the screenwriters and scriptwriters of classic Hindi cinema came from Urdu literary backgrounds, from Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Akhtar ul Iman to Salim–Javed and Rahi Masoom Raza ; a handful came from other Indian literary traditions, such as Bengali and Hindi literature . Most of Hindi cinema's classic scriptwriters wrote primarily in Urdu, including Salim-Javed, Gulzar , Rajinder Singh Bedi , Inder Raj Anand , Rahi Masoom Raza and Wajahat Mirza . Urdu poetry and
4025-641: A renaissance of Western musical films such as Chicago , Rent , and Dreamgirls . Indian film composer A. R. Rahman wrote the music for Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Bombay Dreams , and a musical version of Hum Aapke Hain Koun was staged in London's West End. The sports film Lagaan (2001) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film , and two other Hindi films (2002's Devdas and 2006's Rang De Basanti ) were nominated for
4186-513: A similar influence on Amitabh Bachchan , Naseeruddin Shah , Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui . Veteran actresses such as Suraiya , Nargis , Sumitra Devi , Madhubala , Meena Kumari , Waheeda Rehman , Nutan , Sadhana , Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema. While commercial Hindi cinema was thriving, the 1950s also saw the emergence of
4347-444: A simmering discontent owing to social ills such as poverty, hunger , unemployment, corruption, social inequality and the brutal excesses of The Emergency . This led to Bachchan being dubbed as the "angry young man", a journalistic catchphrase that became a metaphor for the dormant rage, frustration, restlessness, sense of rebellion and anti-establishment disposition of an entire generation, prevalent in 1970s India. The year 1973
4508-506: A star with Zanjeer , and consolidating his domination of the industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1999, BBC India declared Sholay the "Film of the Millennium" and, like Deewaar , it has been cited by Indiatimes Movies as among the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films . In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare Awards awarded it with the special distinction award called
4669-852: A stern, elder figure who rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan . His role won him his third Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor . Other hits followed, with Bachchan appearing as an older family patriarch in Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003). As an actor, he continued to perform in a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his performances in Aks (2001), Aankhen (2002), Kaante (2002), Khakee (2004), Dev (2004) and Veer-Zaara (2004). His performance in Aks won him his first Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor . One project that did particularly well for Bachchan
4830-581: A superhit. Its soundtrack composed by Khayyam dominated the musical charts and was one of the best selling Hindi film albums of the 1970s. Bachchan was again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role in the film. That same year, he played a double role in another hit Adalat as father and son. In 1977, he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony , in which he played
4991-429: A tragic majesty. Bachchan towers in every sense, but without a hint of showboating. Meena Iyer of The Times of India wrote, "The performances are pitch-perfect with Bachchan leading the way. Writing for NDTV , Troy Ribeiro of Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) stated, "Amitabh Bachchan as Deepak Sehgall, the aged defence lawyer, shines as always, in a restrained, but powerful performance. His histrionics come primarily in
Amitabh Bachchan - Misplaced Pages Continue
5152-512: A variety of products and services, appearing in many television and billboard advertisements. In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the films Bunty Aur Babli (2005), the Godfather adaptation Sarkar (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). All of them were successful at the box office. His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were Baabul (2006), Ekalavya (2007) and Nishabd (2007), which failed to do well at
5313-577: A village called Babupatti , in the Raniganj tehsil, in the Pratapgarh district , in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh , in India. Teji Bachchan was a Punjabi Sikh Khatri from Lyallpur , Punjab , British India (present-day Faisalabad , Punjab , Pakistan). Bachchan has a younger brother, Ajitabh, who is five years younger than him. Bachchan's parents were initially going to name him Inquilaab ( Hindustani for "Revolution"), inspired by
5474-459: A whole was producing over 200 films per year. The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani 's Alam Ara (1931), made in Hindustani language, was commercially successful. With a great demand for talkies and musicals, Hindustani cinema (as Hindi cinema was then known as) and the other language film industries quickly switched to sound films. The 1930s and 1940s were tumultuous times; India
5635-465: A whole, only refers to Hindi-language films, with Indian cinema being an umbrella term that includes all the film industries in the country, each offering films in diverse languages and styles. In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364 have been in Hindi. In 2022, Hindi cinema represented 33% of box office revenue, followed by Telugu and Tamil representing representing 20% and 16% respectively. Hindi cinema
5796-494: Is an honest daring police officer from a notorious gangster Prakash Raj who unknowingly hired the latter to perform a contract killing not knowing that the police officer is the gangster's son. Despite significant expectations, it had poor returns at the box office. In 2013, he made his Hollywood debut in The Great Gatsby making a special appearance opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire . In 2014, he played
5957-461: Is arguably considered his most successful year at the box office since all of his six releases in the same year, namely Muqaddar Ka Sikandar , Trishul , Don , Kasme Vaade , Ganga Ki Saugandh and Besharam were box office successes, with the former three being the consecutive highest-grossing films of the year, a rare feat in Hindi cinema. In 1979, Bachchan starred in Suhaag which
6118-455: Is in an alliance with Rasheed. Rasheed prepares to kill Shankar and Khansaab, but only Khansaab is killed when he decides to sacrifice himself for Shankar. By the time Shankar reaches the prison and appropriate action is taken, the attempt on Sarkar's life is already made. Sarkar is later acquitted. He remains bedridden as Shankar takes on Sarkar's enemies. Meanwhile, Mani, Swami, Vishram, and Rasheed try to convince Vishnu to murder Sarkar. Vishnu
6279-495: Is known by his followers as Sarkar, lives in Mumbai . The opening scenes show a rape victim's father approaching Sarkar for justice (which the corrupt law and order system has failed to deliver), which Sarkar promptly establishes by having the rapist beaten up by his henchmen. His son Vishnu plays a sleazy producer who is more interested in the film actress Sapna than his wife Amrita. Sarkar's other, more upright son Shankar returns from
6440-482: Is linked to economic liberalization in India during the early 1990s. Early in the decade, the pendulum swung back toward family-centered romantic musicals. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) was followed by blockbusters such as Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Raja Hindustani (1996), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), introducing
6601-604: Is often hailed as the Shahenshah of Bollywood , Sadi Ke Mahanayak (translated as "Greatest actor of the century" in Hindi), Star of the Millennium, or simply Big B. His dominance in the Indian film industry during the 1970s–80s led the French director François Truffaut to describe it as a "one-man industry". He is a recipient of several accolades including six National Film Awards and sixteen Filmfare Awards . Amitabh Bachchan
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6762-414: Is one of the largest centres for film production in the world. Hindi films sold an estimated 341 million tickets in India in 2019. Earlier Hindi films tended to use vernacular Hindustani , mutually intelligible by speakers of either Hindi or Urdu , while modern Hindi productions increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish . The most popular commercial genre in Hindi cinema since the 1970s has been
6923-467: Is one of the strongest global cultural ambassadors of a new India." Its role in expanding India's global influence is comparable to Hollywood's similar role with American influence. Monroe Township , Middlesex County , New Jersey , in the New York metropolitan area , has been profoundly impacted by Bollywood; this U.S. township has displayed one of the fastest growth rates of its Indian population in
7084-412: Is pretty terrific as Bhashkor, who reminds you of that oddball uncle that you nevertheless have a soft spot for. He bickers with the maids, harrows his hapless helper, and expects Piku to stay unmarried so she can attend to him. At one point, to ward off a possible suitor, he casually mentions that his daughter isn't a virgin; that she's financially independent and sexually independent too. Bachchan embraces
7245-599: Is the first installment of the Sarkar film series . Sarkar is an unofficial remake of The Godfather and spawned two sequels: Sarkar Raj , which was released on 6 June 2008, and Sarkar 3 , which was released on 12 May 2017. Sarkar was premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival . The film is preserved at the American Academy of Motion Pictures library . Subhash Nagre, who
7406-510: Is without doubt an interesting film. The story, its execution, the performances, the drama… The outcome leaves you spellbound." but criticized the slow pacing of the film and gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. William Thomas of Empire Online gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 saying that, "Constructed with flair and crackling with intelligence, this is one of the most edgiest and grittiest releases to come out of Bollywood in years." Abhishek Bachchan won multiple awards for his performance in
7567-537: The Allahabad 's (presently Prayagraj Lok Sabha constituency) seat for the 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna , former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh . With 68.2% of the votes in his favour, he won by one of the highest victory margins ever in Indian elections . In 1987, Indian Express said his brother Ajitabh Bachchan owned an apartment in Switzerland, giving rise to speculations about his involvement in
7728-559: The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language . Danny Boyle 's Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which won four Golden Globes and eight Academy Awards , was inspired by mainstream Hindi films and is considered an "homage to Hindi commercial cinema". It was also inspired by Mumbai-underworld crime films, such as Deewaar (1975), Satya (1998), Company (2002) and Black Friday (2007). Deewaar had
7889-880: The Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer . He also received a Best Actor nomination for Kaala Patthar and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed superhit film Dostana , in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman . In 1981, he starred in Yash Chopra's melodrama film Silsila , where he starred alongside his wife Jaya Bachchan and also Rekha. Other successful films of this period include Ram Balram (1980), Shaan (1980), Naseeb (1981), Lawaaris (1981), Kaalia (1981), Yaarana (1981), Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981) and Shakti (1982), also starring Dilip Kumar . In 1982, he played double roles in
8050-746: The Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001, the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, and India's highest award in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2018 for his contributions to the arts . The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Officer of the Legion of Honour , in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as
8211-600: The Sarkar film series: Ram Gopal Varma 's Sarkar 3 . That year, he started filming for the swashbuckling action-adventure film Thugs of Hindostan with Aamir Khan , Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh which released in November 2018. He co-starred with Rishi Kapoor in 102 Not Out , a comedy drama film directed by Umesh Shukla based on a Gujarati play of the same name written by Saumya Joshi . This film released in May 2018 and reunited him with Kapoor onscreen after
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#17327917585258372-639: The University of Delhi in Delhi. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Kirori Mal College in 1962. When Bachchan finished his studies, his father approached Prithviraj Kapoor , the founder of Prithvi Theatre and patriarch of the Kapoor acting family , to see if there was an opening for him, but Kapoor offered no encouragement. Bachchan was a friend of Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi , before he became an actor. He used to spend time with them when he
8533-556: The Western Hemisphere , increasing from 256 (0.9%) as of the 2000 Census to an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017, representing a 2,221.5% (a multiple of 23) numerical increase over that period, including many affluent professionals and senior citizens as well as charitable benefactors to the COVID-19 relief efforts in India in official coordination with Monroe Township, as well as actors with second homes. During
8694-594: The Yellow Magic Orchestra produced a 1978 electronic album, Cochin Moon , based on an experimental fusion of electronic music and Bollywood-inspired Indian music. Truth Hurts ' 2002 song " Addictive ", produced by DJ Quik and Dr. Dre , was lifted from Lata Mangeshkar 's "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" in Jyoti (1981). The Black Eyed Peas ' Grammy Award winning 2005 song " Don't Phunk with My Heart "
8855-736: The ghazal tradition strongly influenced filmi ( Bollywood lyrics ). Javed Akhtar was also greatly influenced by Urdu novels by Pakistani author Ibn-e-Safi , such as the Jasoosi Dunya and Imran series of detective novels; they inspired, for example, famous Bollywood characters such as Gabbar Singh in Sholay (1975) and Mogambo in Mr. India (1987). Todd Stadtman identifies several foreign influences on 1970s commercial Bollywood masala films , including New Hollywood , Italian exploitation films , and Hong Kong martial arts cinema . After
9016-544: The masala film , which freely mixes different genres including action , comedy , romance , drama and melodrama along with musical numbers . Masala films generally fall under the musical film genre, of which Indian cinema has been the largest producer since the 1960s when it exceeded the American film industry's total musical output after musical films declined in the West. The first Indian talkie , Alam Ara (1931),
9177-461: The overseas Indian diaspora , have also been inspired by Bollywood music. Hindi films are primarily musicals, and are expected to have catchy song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film's success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers. A film's music and song and dance portions are usually produced first and these are often released before the film itself, increasing its audience. Indian audiences expect value for money, and
9338-531: The socio-economic and socio-political realities of contemporary India. They channeled growing popular discontent and disillusionment and state failure to ensure welfare and well-being at a time of inflation, shortages, loss of confidence in public institutions, increasing crime and the unprecedented growth of slums . Salim-Javed and Bachchan's films dealt with urban poverty, corruption and organised crime; they were perceived by audiences as anti-establishment , often with an "angry young man" protagonist presented as
9499-619: The " Bofors scandal ", revealed in the year before. Bachchan resigned from his seat in July 1987. Ajitabh Bachchan sued Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter for linking him to Bofors payments in 1990 and won damages in the United Kingdom. Sten Lindstrom, the Swedish police chief who had investigated the case, said in 2012 that "Indian investigators planted the Bachchan angle on" Dagens Nyheter . Bachchan's old friend, Amar Singh , helped him during
9660-407: The "romantic hero" image dominant in the industry at the time. Salim-Javed "saw his talent, which most makers didn't. He was exceptional, a genius actor who was in films that weren't good." According to Salim Khan, they "strongly felt that Amitabh was the ideal casting for Zanjeer ". Salim Khan introduced Bachchan to Prakash Mehra, and Salim-Javed insisted that Bachchan be cast for the role. Zanjeer
9821-547: The 1950s and 1960s were Dilip Kumar , Raj Kapoor , and Dev Anand , each with a unique acting style. Kapoor adopted Charlie Chaplin 's tramp persona; Anand modeled himself on suave Hollywood stars like Gregory Peck and Cary Grant , and Kumar pioneered a form of method acting which predated Hollywood method actors such as Marlon Brando . Kumar, who was described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray , inspired future generations of Indian actors. Much like Brando's influence on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino , Kumar had
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#17327917585259982-470: The 1950s and early 1960s and some won major prizes at the festival. Guru Dutt , overlooked during his lifetime, received belated international recognition during the 1980s. Film critics polled by the British magazine Sight & Sound included several of Dutt's films in a 2002 list of greatest films , and Time's All-Time 100 Movies lists Pyaasa as one of the greatest films of all time. During
10143-493: The 1970s. Although the art film bent of the Film Finance Corporation was criticised during a 1976 Committee on Public Undertakings investigation which accused the corporation of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema, the decade saw the rise of commercial cinema with films such as Sholay (1975) which consolidated Amitabh Bachchan 's position as a star. The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma
10304-457: The 1980s was Mira Nair 's Salaam Bombay! (1988), which won the Camera d'Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . Hindi cinema experienced another period of box-office decline during the late 1980s with due to concerns by audiences over increasing violence and a decline in musical quality, and a rise in video piracy. One of
10465-467: The 1990s and 2000s, and Aamir Khan has been the most successful Indian actor since the mid 2000s. Action and comedy films, starring such actors as Akshay Kumar and Govinda . The decade marked the entrance of new performers in art and independent films, some of which were commercially successful. The most influential example was Satya (1998), directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Anurag Kashyap . Its critical and commercial success led to
10626-510: The 2000s, Hindi cinema began influencing musical films in the Western world and was instrumental role in reviving the American musical film. Baz Luhrmann said that his musical film, Moulin Rouge! (2001), was inspired by Bollywood musicals; the film incorporated a Bollywood-style dance scene with a song from the film China Gate . The critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge! began
10787-411: The 2010s, the industry saw established stars such as making big-budget masala films like Dabangg (2010), Singham (2011) , Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), Rowdy Rathore (2012), Chennai Express (2013), Kick (2014) and Happy New Year (2014) with much-younger actresses. Although the films were often not praised by critics, they were commercially successful. Some of
10948-746: The Bombay film industry was closely linked to the Lahore film industry (known as "Lollywood"; now part of the Pakistani film industry ); both produced films in Hindustani (also known as Hindi-Urdu), the lingua franca of northern and central India. Another centre of Hindustani-language film production was the Bengal film industry in Calcutta , Bengal Presidency (now Kolkata, West Bengal ), which produced Hindustani-language films and local Bengali language films. Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from
11109-810: The Bombay film industry's position as the preeminent center for film production in India. The period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, after India's independence , is regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Hindi cinema. Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this time. Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi ; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas , and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar . The films explored social themes, primarily dealing with working-class life in India (particularly urban life) in
11270-569: The Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years. In 1976, he was cast by Yash Chopra in the romantic musical Kabhi Kabhie . Bachchan starred as a young poet, Amit Malhotra, who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja ( Rakhee Gulzar ) who ends up marrying someone else ( Shashi Kapoor ). The film was notable for portraying Bachchan as a romantic hero, a far cry from his "angry young man" roles like Zanjeer and Deewaar . Despite its heavy theme, Kabhi Kabhie went on to become
11431-405: The Indian economy and a demand for quality entertainment in this era led the country's film industry to new heights in production values, cinematography and screenwriting as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects and animation. Some of the largest production houses, among them Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions were the producers of new modern films. Some popular films of
11592-561: The Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal , Prithviraj Kapoor , Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand as well as playback singers Mohammed Rafi , Noorjahan and Shamshad Begum . Around the same time, filmmakers and actors from the Calcutta film industry began migrating to Bombay; as a result, Bombay became the center of Hindustani-language film production. The 1947 partition of India divided
11753-576: The Maharashtra Police Welfare Fund in 2013. Bachchan was the face of the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign that promoted the importance of tiger conservation in India. He supported the campaign by PETA in India to free Sunder, a 14-year-old elephant who was chained and tortured in a temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Hindi cinema Hindi cinema , popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema , refers to
11914-630: The Sikh community". Bachchan in an interview with journalist Arnab Goswami offered to fight the case in court and asked the accusers to file the same as also present proof. He was also one of the trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation . Bachchan has been involved with many social causes. For example, he donated ₹1.1 million to clear the debts of nearly 40 beleaguered farmers in Andhra Pradesh and ₹3 million to clear
12075-419: The United States with his love Pooja after completing his education there. Pooja's doubts about Sarkar's image eventually cause Shankar, who firmly believes in his father's righteousness, to break up with her. One day, a Dubai -based don, Rasheed, tries to strike a deal with Sarkar; he promptly refuses on moral grounds and also forbids him from doing it himself. Rasheed tries to eliminate Sarkar's supremacy with
12236-558: The audition". He became a business executive for Bird & Company in Kolkata (Calcutta), and worked in theatre before starting his film career. It is thought that his mother might have had some influence on his choice of career, for she always insisted that he should "take centre stage". Bachchan made his film debut in 1969, as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen 's National Award –winning film Bhuvan Shome . His first acting role
12397-686: The biggest entertainment industry; many of the country's musical, dancing, wedding and fashion trends are Bollywood-inspired. Bollywood fashion trendsetters have included Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). Hindi films have also had a socio-political impact on Indian society, reflecting Indian politics . In classic 1970s Bollywood films, Bombay underworld crime films written by Salim–Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975) reflected
12558-552: The blockbuster Sholay (1975), written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan. It combined the dacoit film conventions of Mother India and Gunga Jumna with spaghetti Westerns , spawning the Dacoit Western (also known as the curry Western ) which was popular during the 1970s. Some Hindi filmmakers, such as Shyam Benegal , Mani Kaul , Kumar Shahani , Ketan Mehta , Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta , continued to produce realistic parallel cinema throughout
12719-436: The box office and earned him another Filmfare nomination for Best Actor. Indiatimes ranks Deewaar among the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films . The other, released on 15 August 1975, was Sholay , which became the highest-grossing film ever in India at the time, in which Bachchan played the role of Jaidev. Deewaar and Sholay are often credited with exalting Bachchan to the heights of superstardom, two years after he became
12880-609: The box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics. In May 2007, two of his films, the romantic comedy Cheeni Kum and the multi-starrer action drama Shootout at Lokhandwala , were released. Shootout at Lokhandwala did well at the box office and was declared a hit in India, while Cheeni Kum picked up after a slow start and was declared a semi-hit by the end of its theatrical run. A remake of his biggest hit, Sholay (1975), entitled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag , released in August of that same year and proved to be
13041-573: The box office. A large Indian diaspora in English-speaking countries and increased Western influence in India have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood. Sarkar (2005 film) Sarkar ( transl. Leader ) is a 2005 Indian Hindi -language political crime thriller film directed by Ram Gopal Varma . The film stars Amitabh Bachchan , Abhishek Bachchan , Kay Kay Menon , Katrina Kaif , Tanisha Mukherjee , Supriya Pathak , Kota Srinivasa Rao , and Anupam Kher . It
13202-483: The character's many idiosyncrasies , never once slipping into caricature while all along delivering big laughs thanks to his spot-on comic timing." The Guardian summed up, "Bachchan seizes upon his cranky character part, making Bashkor as garrulously funny in his theories on caste and marriage as his system is backed-up." The performance won Bachchan his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor and his third Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. In 2016, he appeared in
13363-602: The consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top-level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997. The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by the Indian Industries board. The Bombay High Court, in April 1999, restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats until
13524-663: The conventions which were once strictly associated with parallel cinema. "Bollywood" is a portmanteau derived from Bombay (the former name of Mumbai ) and "Hollywood", a shorthand reference for the American film industry which is based in Hollywood , California . The term "Tollywood", for the Tollygunge -based cinema of West Bengal , predated "Bollywood". It was used in a 1932 American Cinematographer article by Wilford E. Deming, an American engineer who helped produce
13685-535: The country into the Republic of India and Pakistan , which precipitated the migration of filmmaking talent from film production centres like Lahore and Calcutta , which bore the brunt of the partition violence. This included actors, filmmakers and musicians from Bengal , Punjab (particularly the present-day Pakistani Punjab ), and the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ). These events further consolidated
13846-476: The country, eventually taking top spot at the box office that year and emerging an All Time Blockbuster as well as Bachchan's biggest hit at that point of time. Before the end of year, he delivered a hit in Ravi Tandon 's crime thriller Majboor . Written by Salim-Javed, it also had Pran and Parveen Babi in the lead. In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres, from the comedy Chupke Chupke and
14007-542: The creation of a national movement against colonial rule in India, while simultaneously leveraging the popular political movement to increase their own visibility and popularity. Themes from the Independence Movement deeply influenced Bombay film directors, screen-play writers, and lyricists, who saw their films in the context of social reform and the problems of the common people. Before the Partition,
14168-414: The crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili . This was also the year in which Bachchan starred in two films regarded as important in Hindi cinema history, both written by Salim-Javed, who again insisted on casting Bachchan. The first was Deewaar , directed by Yash Chopra, where he worked with Shashi Kapoor , Nirupa Roy , Parveen Babi , and Neetu Singh . The film emerged a huge blockbuster at
14329-726: The debts of some 100 Vidarbha farmers. In 2010, he donated ₹1.1 million to Resul Pookutty 's foundation for a medical centre at Kochi, and he has given ₹250,000 ( $ 4,678 ) to the family of Delhi policeman Subhash Chand Tomar who died after succumbing to injuries during a protest against gang-rape after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. He founded the Harivansh Rai Bachchan Memorial Trust, named after his father, in 2013. This trust, in association with Urja Foundation, will be powering 3,000 homes in India with electricity through solar energy. In June 2019 he cleared debts of 2100 farmers from Bihar. Bachchan
14490-405: The decade were Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), Lagaan (2001), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Rang De Basanti (2006), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Dhoom 2 (2006), Krrish (2006), and Jab We Met (2007), among others, showing the rise of new movie stars. During
14651-678: The decade with films such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975). Salim-Javed reinterpreted the rural themes of Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957) and Dilip Kumar 's Gunga Jumna (1961) in a contemporary urban context, reflecting the socio-economic and socio-political climate of 1970s India and channeling mass discontent, disillusionment and the unprecedented growth of slums with anti-establishment themes and those involving urban poverty, corruption and crime. Their "angry young man", personified by Amitabh Bachchan , reinterpreted Dilip Kumar's performance in Gunga Jumna in
14812-409: The emergence of a genre known as Mumbai noir: urban films reflecting the city's social problems. This led to a resurgence of parallel cinema by the end of the decade. The films featured actors whose performances were often praised by critics. The 2000s saw increased Bollywood recognition worldwide due to growing (and prospering) NRI and South Asian diaspora communities overseas. The growth of
14973-423: The end. Desai felt it would have been inappropriate for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen. The footage of the fight scene is frozen at the critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking it as the instant of the actor's injury. The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, it emerged a mega blockbuster and top-grossing film of
15134-408: The film industry based in Mumbai , engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood ". The industry is a part of the larger Indian cinema , which also includes South Indian cinema and other smaller film industries . The term 'Bollywood', often mistakenly used to refer to Indian cinema as
15295-408: The film, namely Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award , Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male , and IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor . A Telugu remake, titled Rowdy , was made replacing the background of Marathi politics with that of Rayalaseema factionism . Veteran actor Mohan Babu reprised the role portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan , while his son, Vishnu Manchu , reprised
15456-829: The films starring Aamir Khan, from Taare Zameen Par (2007) and 3 Idiots (2009) to Dangal (2016) and Secret Superstar (2018), have been credited with redefining and modernising the masala film with a distinct brand of socially conscious cinema. Most stars from the 2000s continued successful careers into the next decade, and the 2010s saw a new generation of popular actors in different films. Among new conventions, female-centred films such as The Dirty Picture (2011), Kahaani (2012), and Queen (2014), Pink (2016), Raazi (2018), Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) started gaining wide financial success. Moti Gokulsing and Wimal Dissanayake identify six major influences which have shaped Indian popular cinema: Sharmistha Gooptu identifies Indo-Persian - Islamic culture as
15617-596: The financial crisis caused by the failure of his company, ABCL . Thereafter Bachchan started supporting the Samajwadi Party , the political party to which Amar Singh belonged. Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and represented the party as an MP in the Rajya Sabha . Bachchan appeared in advertisements and political campaigns for the party. His claim that he too was a farmer in the advertisements
15778-619: The first Indian sound picture. "Bollywood" was probably invented in Bombay-based film trade journals in the 1960s or 1970s, though the exact inventor varies by account. Film journalist Bevinda Collaco claims she coined the term for the title of her column in Screen magazine. Her column entitled "On the Bollywood Beat" covered studio news and celebrity gossip. Other sources state that lyricist, filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna
15939-455: The first masala film and the first quintessentially "Bollywood" film. Salim-Javed wrote more successful masala films during the 1970s and 1980s. Masala films made Amitabh Bachchan the biggest star of the period. A landmark of the genre was Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), directed by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan , and Desai continued successfully exploiting the genre. Both genres (masala and violent-crime films) are represented by
16100-407: The first season of Kaun Banega Crorepati ( KBC ), the Indian adaptation of the British television game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? . The show was well received. A second season followed in 2005 but its run was cut short by Star Plus when Bachchan fell ill in 2006. He then returned to host the fourth season, and has hosted the show since. In 2009, Bachchan hosted the third season of
16261-414: The first two examples. Awaara presented the city as both nightmare and dream, and Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of urban life. Mehboob Khan 's Mother India (1957), a remake of his earlier Aurat (1940), was the first Indian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film ; it lost by a single vote. Mother India defined conventional Hindi cinema for decades. It spawned
16422-447: The following movies: Around 1994, Bachchan started Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL), an event management, production and distribution company. But the company fell into debt with a fiasco and went into bankruptcy, subsequently Bachchan became nearly bankrupt. The reasons for this debacle were films that fared poorly at the box office such as Mrityudata , Major Saab (produced by this organisation), and Miss World 1996 which
16583-402: The form of his well-modulated baritone, conveying his emotions and of course, from the well-written lines." Mike McCahill of The Guardian remarked, "Among an electric ensemble, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang give unwavering voice to the girls' struggles; Amitabh Bachchan brings his moral authority to bear as their sole legal ally. In 2017, he appeared in the third instalment of
16744-429: The help of Selvar Mani, Sarkar's former associate, MLA Vishram Bhagat, and Swami Virendra. Meanwhile, they trap Sarkar by assassinating a righteous, upright, Ahinsa political leader and an outspoken critic of Sarkar, Motilal Khurana, and frame Sarkar for the murder. Everyone, including Vishnu, believes that Sarkar is guilty, but Shankar has deep faith in his father. Sarkar is arrested and imprisoned. Shankar now takes over
16905-551: The highest number of viewers thus far. In 2014, he debuted in the fictional Sony Entertainment Television TV series titled Yudh playing the lead role of a businessman battling in both his personal and professional lives. Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a narrator, a playback singer, and a presenter for numerous programmes. Some prominent films featuring his narration are Satyajit Ray 's 1977 film Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Ashutosh Gowarikar 's 2001 film Lagaan . He also has done voice-over work for
17066-484: The highest-grossing films of that year, breaking Bachchan's dry spell at the box office and making him a star. It was the first of many collaborations between Salim-Javed and Amitabh; the duo wrote many of their subsequent scripts with Bachchan in mind for the lead role, and insisted on him being cast for their later films, including blockbusters such as Deewaar (1975) and Sholay (1975). Salim Khan also introduced Bachchan to director Manmohan Desai with whom he formed
17227-416: The hospital where he was recuperating; the public response included prayers in places of worship and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him. Nevertheless, he resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. The director, Manmohan Desai , altered the ending of Coolie : Bachchan's character was originally intended to have been killed off; but, after the change of script, the character lived in
17388-473: The important barrier of one crore (10 million) rupees, made on a budget of only two lakh (200,000) rupees. The film tackled contemporary issues, especially those arising from the Indian Independence movement, and went on to become "the longest running hit of Indian cinema", a title it held till the 1970s. Film personalities like Bimal Roy, Sahir Ludhianvi and Prithviraj Kapoor participated in
17549-419: The late 1960s and early 1970s, the industry was dominated by musical romance films with romantic-hero leads. By 1970, Hindi cinema was thematically stagnant and dominated by musical romance films . The arrival of screenwriting duo Salim–Javed ( Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar ) was a paradigm shift, revitalising the industry. They began the genre of gritty, violent, Bombay underworld crime films early in
17710-619: The latter's commercial success paved the way for Indian neorealism and the Indian New Wave (synonymous with parallel cinema). Internationally acclaimed Hindi filmmakers involved in the movement included Mani Kaul , Kumar Shahani , Ketan Mehta , Govind Nihalani , Shyam Benegal , and Vijaya Mehta . After the social-realist film Neecha Nagar received the Palme d'Or at the inaugural 1946 Cannes Film Festival , Hindi films were frequently in competition for Cannes' top prize during
17871-623: The mid-1970s to the 1980s, such as Deewaar , Sholay , Kabhi Kabhie , Hera Pheri , Amar Akbar Anthony , Parvarish , Kasme Vaade , Don , Trishul , Muqaddar Ka Sikandar , Suhaag , Dostana , Naseeb , Laawaris , Namak Halaal , Andhaa Kaanoon , Coolie , Sharaabi and Mard , as well as some of his most acclaimed performances, include Namak Haraam , Abhimaan , Majboor , Mili , Chupke Chupke , Do Anjaane , Kaala Patthar , Shaan , Silsila , Yaarana , Kaalia , Shakti , Aakhree Raasta , Shahenshah and Agneepath . After taking
18032-399: The musical Satte Pe Satta and action drama Desh Premee which succeeded at the box office along with highly successful ventures like action comedy Namak Halaal , action drama Khud-Daar and the critically acclaimed drama Bemisal . On 26 July 1982, while filming a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar for Coolie , Bachchan had a near-fatal intestinal injury. Bachchan
18193-442: The nation and emerged a huge hit as well as the second highest-grossing film of the year . He was later diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis . The illness weakened him both mentally and physically. At this time he became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film would be received, and stating before every release, "Yeh film to flop hogi!" ("This film will flop"). He then decided to quit films and ventured into politics. After
18354-634: The only actor to do so. Bachchan also made an appearance in a Hollywood film, The Great Gatsby (2013), in which he played a non-Indian Jewish character. Bachchan has won numerous accolades in his career, including record four National Film Awards in Best Actor category and many awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies. He has won sixteen Filmfare Awards and is the most nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare with 34 nominations in Best Actor and 42 nominations overall. The Government of India honoured him with
18515-420: The opening credits of the film. He changed the film's setting to modern-day Mumbai . The soundtrack of Sarkar consists of 10 songs composed by Bapi-Tutul & Prasanna Shekhar the lyrics of which were penned by Sandeep Nath . Raja Sen of Rediff said that the film "had the potential to be great. It turns out to be passable." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama praised the movie saying that, " Sarkar
18676-634: The pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of. Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to raise funds for his company. Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career, and eventually had commercial success with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) and Major Saab (1998), and received positive reviews for Sooryavansham (1999), but other films such as Lal Baadshah (1999) and Kohram (1999) were box office failures. In 2000, Bachchan appeared in Aditya Chopra 's romantic blockbuster Mohabbatein . He played
18837-414: The phrase Inquilab Zindabad ("Long live the revolution") popularly used during the Indian independence struggle; the name Amitabh was suggested to his father by poet Sumitranandan Pant . Although his surname was Srivastava , Amitabh's father, who opposed the caste system , had adopted the pen name Bachchan ("child-like" in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works. When his father
18998-510: The position of Sarkar temporarily. On learning of a plot to murder his father in prison, he approaches the police commissioner and asks him to arrange stronger security for his father, only for the commissioner to mock Shankar and his father beside not providing protection. Shankar gets a feeling that the police commissioner wants Sarkar to get murdered. Shankar and Khansaab, one of Sarkar's men, try to ask Mani for help to prevent possible murder, but Mani ultimately betrays them when he reveals that he
19159-557: The reality show Bigg Boss . In 2010, Bachchan hosted the fourth season of KBC . The fifth season started on 15 August 2011 and ended on 17 November 2011. The show became a massive hit with audiences and broke many TRP Records. CNN IBN awarded Indian of the Year- Entertainment to Team KBC and Bachchan. The Show also grabbed all the major Awards for its category. The sixth season was also hosted by Bachchan, commencing on 7 September 2012, broadcast on Sony TV and received
19320-404: The rest of Indian cinema) it has become part of the "Indian story". In India, Bollywood is often associated with India's national identity. According to economist and Bollywood biographer Meghnad Desai , "Cinema actually has been the most vibrant medium for telling India its own story, the story of its struggle for independence, its constant struggle to achieve national integration and to emerge as
19481-564: The role of the friendly ghost in the sequel Bhoothnath Returns . The next year, he played the role of a grumpy father experiencing chronic constipation in the critically acclaimed Piku which was also one of the biggest hits of 2015. A review in Daily News and Analysis (DNA) summarised Bachchan's performance as "The heart and soul of Piku clearly belong to Amitabh Bachchan who is in his elements. His performance in Piku, without doubt, finds
19642-529: The role played by Abhishek Bachchan. Rowdy released on 4 April 2014 to positive reviews from critics, but was a moderate commercial success, grossing approximately 8 crores in its full run. A sequel titled Sarkar Raj was released on 6 June 2008 with Amitabh Bachchan , Abhishek Bachchan (who reprise their roles from the original) and new entrant Aishwarya Rai Bachchan . Supriya Pathak , Tanisha Mukherjee and Ravi Kale also reappeared in their respective roles from Sarkar . The film released on 6 June 2008,
19803-401: The story, screenplay and script of Zanjeer (1973), and conceived the "angry young man" persona of the lead role. Javed Akhtar came on board as co-writer, and Prakash Mehra , who saw the script as potentially groundbreaking, as the film's director. However, they were struggling to find an actor for the lead "angry young man" role; it was turned down by several actors, owing to it going against
19964-574: The success of Bruce Lee films (such as Enter the Dragon ) in India, Deewaar (1975) and other Bollywood films incorporated fight scenes inspired by 1970s martial arts films from Hong Kong cinema until the 1990s. Bollywood action scenes emulated Hong Kong rather than Hollywood, emphasising acrobatics and stunts and combining kung fu (as perceived by Indians) with Indian martial arts such as pehlwani . Perhaps Hindi cinema's greatest influence has been on India's national identity, where (with
20125-483: The success of his comeback film however, Bachchan's star power began to wane as his subsequent releases like Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswati , Jaadugar , Toofan and Main Azaad Hoon (all released in 1989) did not do well commercially. He gained success during this period with superhits in K.C. Bokadia 's crime drama film Aaj Ka Arjun (1990) and Mukul Anand 's masala film Hum (1991), but this momentum
20286-656: The third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves. The film was the highest-grossing film of that year. His other major hits that year include Parvarish and Khoon Pasina . He once again resumed double roles in films such as Kasme Vaade (1978) as Amit and Shankar and Don (1978) playing the characters of Don , a leader of an underworld gang and his look-alike Vijay. His performance won him his second Filmfare Best Actor Award. He also gave towering performances in Yash Chopra's Trishul and Prakash Mehra's Muqaddar Ka Sikandar both of which earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. 1978
20447-414: The turning points came with such films as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), presenting a blend of youthfulness, family entertainment, emotional intelligence and strong melodies, all of which lured audiences back to the big screen. It brought back the template for Bollywood musical romance films which went on to define 1990s Hindi cinema. Known since the 1990s as "New Bollywood", contemporary Bollywood
20608-459: The way he bellows "et cetera" is alone worth having the heavy-hitter at play—but there are softer moments like one where he appears to have dozed off in court, or where he lays his head by his convalescent wife's bedside and needs his hair ruffled and his conviction validated." Writing for Hindustan Times , noted film critic and author Anupama Chopra said of Bachchan's performance, "A special salute to Amitabh Bachchan, who imbues his character with
20769-709: The women-centric courtroom drama film Pink which was highly praised by critics and with an increasingly good word of mouth, was a resounding success at the domestic and overseas box office. Bachchan's performance in the film received acclaim. According to Raja Sen of Rediff.com, "Amitabh Bachchan, a retired lawyer with bipolar disorder, takes up cudgels on behalf of the girls, delivering courtroom blows with pugilistic grace. As we know from Prakash Mehra movies, in each life some Bachchan must fall. The girls hang on to him with incredulous desperation, and he bats for them with all he has. At one point Meenal hangs by Bachchan's elbow, words entirely unnecessary. Bachchan towers through Pink –
20930-525: The year with a guest appearance in Dulal Guha 's blockbuster social drama film Dost . After this, he starred in Aravind Sen's drama film Kasauti and Narendra Bedi 's crime thriller Benaam , both of which ended up as moderate commercial successes. Bachchan's next release was Manoj Kumar 's fourth directional venture Roti Kapada Aur Makaan . The film opened to excellent response all over
21091-459: The year. He then played a triple role in S. Ramanathan 's action drama Mahaan , which performed poorly at the box office. Other releases that year included Nastik and Pukar which too didn't do that well, but Andhaa Kaanoon (in which he had a small role) was a blockbuster. During a stint in politics from 1984 to 1987, five of his completed films were released, out of which, Manmohan Desai 's action film Mard (1985) went on to become
21252-427: Was Sanjay Leela Bhansali 's Black (2005). The film starred Bachchan as an ageing teacher of a deaf-blind girl and followed their relationship. His performance was unanimously praised by critics and audiences and won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor, his fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award, and his second Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began endorsing
21413-465: Was a crime film with violent action, in sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it, and it established Amitabh in a new persona—the "angry young man" of Bollywood. He earned his first Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor , with Filmfare later considering this one of the most iconic performances in Bollywood history. The film was a huge success and one of
21574-474: Was a box office hit and launched the careers of actors like Arshad Warsi and southern film star Simran . In 1997, Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film Mrityudata , produced by ABCL. Though Mrityudaata attempted to reprise Bachchan's earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically. ABCL was the main sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant , Bangalore , but lost millions. The fiasco and
21735-579: Was a critical and commercial failure. The next year, Bachchan had five releases, out of which Ayan Mukerji 's highly anticipated fantasy action-adventure film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva proved to be a hit as well as the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022 while Jhund , Runway 34 and Uunchai didn't do well at ticket counters, but met with positive response from critics. In 2024, he played Ashwatthama in Nag Ashwin 's Kalki 2898 AD , marking his Telugu debut. In 2000, Bachchan hosted
21896-644: Was a resident in New Delhi. Bachchan's family were very close to the Nehru-Gandhi family of politicians. When Sonia Gandhi first came to India from Italy before her marriage, Bachchan had received her at the Palam International Airport on 13 January 1968. She spent 48 days at Bachchan's house with his parents before her wedding to Rajiv. In the late 1960s, Bachchan applied to be a newsreader for All India Radio in Delhi, but "failed
22057-465: Was also released that year. By 1983, the Bombay film industry was generating an estimated annual revenue of ₹700 crore ( ₹ 7 billion, $ 693.14 million ), equivalent to $ 2.12 billion ( ₹12,667 crore , ₹ 111.33 billion) when adjusted for inflation. By 1986, India's annual film output had increased from 741 films produced annually to 833 films annually, making India the world's largest film producer. The most internationally acclaimed Hindi film of
22218-631: Was also when he married Jaya, and around this time they appeared in several films together: not only Zanjeer but also subsequent films such as Abhimaan , which was released only a month after their wedding and was also successful at the box office. Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram, once again along with Rajesh Khanna , in the film Namak Haraam , a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role won him his second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor . The flow of successes continued for Bachchan in 1974. He began
22379-661: Was as one of the seven protagonists in the film Saat Hindustani , directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt , Anwar Ali (brother of comedian Mehmood ), Madhu and Jalal Agha . Anand (1971) followed, in which Bachchan starred alongside Rajesh Khanna . His role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garnered Bachchan his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor . He then played his first antagonist role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in Parwana (1971). Following Parwana were several films, including Reshma Aur Shera (1971). During this time, he made
22540-651: Was born in 1942 in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) to the Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and his wife, the social activist Teji Bachchan . He was educated at Sherwood College , Nainital , and Kirori Mal College , University of Delhi . His film career started in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen 's film Bhuvan Shome . He first gained popularity in the early-1970s for films, such as Anand , Zanjeer and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan , and achieved greater stardom in later years, being dubbed India's "Angry Young Man" for several of his on-screen roles in Hindi films. He consistently starred in top–grossing Indian films from
22701-536: Was buffeted by the Great Depression , World War II , the Indian independence movement , and the violence of the Partition . Although most early Bombay films were unabashedly escapist , a number of filmmakers tackled tough social issues or used the struggle for Indian independence as a backdrop for their films. Irani made the first Hindi colour film, Kisan Kanya , in 1937. The following year, he made
22862-617: Was coined during the 1970s, when the conventions of commercial Hindi films were defined. Key to this was the masala film , which combines a number of genres ( action , comedy , romance , drama , melodrama , and musical ). The masala film was pioneered early in the decade by filmmaker Nasir Hussain , and the Salim-Javed screenwriting duo, pioneering the Bollywood- blockbuster format. Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973), directed by Hussain and written by Salim-Javed, has been identified as
23023-433: Was inspired by two 1970s Bollywood songs : "Ye Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana" from Don (1978) and "Ae Nujawan Hai Sub" from Apradh (1972). Both songs were composed by Kalyanji Anandji , sung by Asha Bhosle , and featured the dancer Helen . The Kronos Quartet re-recorded several R. D. Burman compositions sung by Asha Bhosle for their 2005 album, You've Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood , which
23184-464: Was its creator. It is unknown if it was derived from "Hollywood" through "Tollywood", or was inspired directly by "Hollywood". The term has been criticised by some film journalists and critics, who believe it implies that the industry is a poor cousin of Hollywood. In 1897, a film presentation by Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at Calcutta 's Star Theatre. With Stevenson's encouragement and camera, Hiralal Sen , an Indian photographer, made
23345-631: Was looking to get him admitted to a school, he and Bachchan's mother decided the family's name should be Bachchan instead of Shrivastava. It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films and used for all other practical purposes, Bachchan has become the surname for all of his immediate family. Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007. Bachchan's secondary education was at Boys' High School & College in Allahabad and Sherwood College in Nainital . He attended Kirori Mal College at
23506-411: Was made a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the polio eradication campaign in India in 2002 and an international ambassador in 2005 and a WHO Goodwill Ambassador for awareness of hepatitis in 2017. In 2013, he and his family donated ₹2.5 million ( $ 42,664 ) to a charitable trust, Plan India, that works for the betterment of young girls in India. He also donated ₹1.1 million ( $ 18,772 ) to
23667-550: Was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Filmi music composed by A. R. Rahman (who received two Academy Awards for the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack ) has frequently been sampled by other musicians, including the Singaporean artist Kelly Poon , the French rap group La Caution and the American artist Ciara . Many Asian Underground artists, particularly those among
23828-686: Was one of the top-grossing films of 2009. It won him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through Kandahar , directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal . The film was based on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 . Bachchan declined any remuneration for this film. In 2011 he played an aged retired former gangster in Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap who protects his son Sonu Sood who
23989-682: Was organised-managed by ABCL. Due to this he began work for TV, and asked for work to Yash Chopra . Once he said that 'it was the darkest time for him'. He has invested in many upcoming business ventures. In 2013, he bought a 10% stake in Just Dial from which he made a gain of 4600 per cent. He holds a 3.4% equity in Stampede Capital, a financial technology firm specialising in cloud computing for financial markets. The Bachchan family also bought shares worth $ 252,000 in Meridian Tech,
24150-454: Was performing his stunts in the film and one scene required him to fall onto a table and then on the ground. However, as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in a splenic rupture from which he lost a significant amount of blood. He required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in the hospital for many months, at times close to death. There were long queues of well-wishing fans outside
24311-450: Was previously expelled from Sarkar's house because he had murdered the actor who was having an affair with Sapna. Vishnu returns home pretending to have repented. When he approaches Sarkar in the dark of the night with the intent of murdering him, Shankar foils his plan and later kills him. Shankar eliminates Rasheed, Vishram, and Selvar Mani. He also succeeds in making Swami his puppet. Shankar has also realised that Chief Minister Madan Rathod
24472-465: Was produced in the Hindustani language, four years after Hollywood's first sound film, The Jazz Singer (1927). Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of art films known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers. In more recent years, the distinction between commercial masala and parallel cinema has been gradually blurring, with an increasing number of mainstream films adopting
24633-477: Was questioned in court. Bachchan has claimed to have been banned by film press during the emergency years for his family's friendship with Indira Gandhi . Bachchan has been accused of using the slogan "blood for blood" in the context of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots . Bachchan has denied the allegation. In October 2014, Bachchan was summoned by a court in Los Angeles for "allegedly instigating violence against
24794-580: Was really behind everything; Rasheed and everyone else were merely pawns. This results in legal action against Rathod. The closing scenes show a woman approaching Shankar for justice to a fake encounter of her husband by the police and calling Shankar the Sarkar, while Subhash is busy with family. Sarkar 's director Ram Gopal Varma was deeply influenced by the Francis Ford Coppola 's Hollywood classic The Godfather (1972), which he mentions in
24955-453: Was released on 9 May 2008. Sarkar Raj , the sequel of the 2005 film Sarkar , released in June 2008 and received a positive response at the box office. Paa , which was released at the end of 2009 was a highly anticipated project as it saw him playing his own son Abhishek's Progeria -affected 13-year-old son, and it opened to favourable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance and
25116-416: Was short-lived and his string of box office failures continued. Notably, despite a decline in number of hits, it was during this era that Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance as a Mafia don in the cult film Agneepath (1990). He turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation , Ltd. (ABCL) in 1996. ABCL's strategy
25277-459: Was slated to play a supporting role in his first international film, Shantaram , directed by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the lead. The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the writer's strike, was pushed to September 2008. The film is currently "shelved" indefinitely. Vivek Sharma 's Bhoothnath , in which he plays the title role as a ghost,
25438-552: Was struggling, seen as a "failed newcomer" who, by the age of 30, had twelve commercial failures and only two successes (as a lead in Bombay to Goa and a supporting role in Anand ). He was offered to play dual roles by director O. P. Goyle and writer O. P. Ralhan for the film Bandhe Haath in 1973. This was the first movie in which Bachchan played a double role. Bachchan was then discovered by screenwriter duo Salim–Javed , consisting of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar . Salim Khan wrote
25599-484: Was the highest-earning film of that year. In the same year, he also enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success with films like Jurmana , Mr. Natwarlal and Kaala Patthar . He was required to use his singing voice for the first time in a song from the film Mr. Natwarlal in which he starred with Rekha . Bachchan's performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and
25760-406: Was to introduce products and services covering an entire cross-section of India's entertainment industry. ABCL's operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, and celebrity and event management. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film it produced was Tere Mere Sapne , which
25921-588: Was voted the "greatest star of stage or screen" in the BBC Your Millennium online poll in 1999. In October 2003, Time magazine dubbed Bachchan the "Star of the Millennium". Bachchan was born on 11 October 1942 in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) to Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and social activist Teji Bachchan . Harivansh Rai Bachchan was an Awadhi Hindu Kayastha , who was fluent in Awadhi , Hindi and Urdu . Harivansh's ancestors came from
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