Amitabh Bachchan

1.1 Why do fans call him Big B?

Amitabh Bachchan is one of India’s best-known film actors. Fans call him Big B. He was born on 11 October 1942 in Allahabad.

His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a Hindi poet.

1.2 What made him famous?

He rose to fame in the 1970s as the “angry young man” of Hindi cinema. By the early 2000s he had acted in more than 175 films.

2.1 Where did he study?

He first went to a day school run by Christian missionaries in Allahabad. Then he studied at Sherwood College in Nainital. Later he went to the University of Delhi.

2.2 What was his first job?

He worked as a business executive in Calcutta. His employers included Bird & Co. and Blacker & Co. In his spare time he acted in amateur English theatre.

3.1 Did All India Radio reject him?

Yes. He auditioned to be a newsreader at All India Radio. He was turned down. His voice was reportedly judged unsuitable.

Today that deep voice is one of his best-known features.

3.2 How did he enter films?

In 1969 he lent his voice to Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome. A voice-over is a spoken commentary heard over the film’s pictures. Bhuvan Shome is a landmark of parallel cinema. Parallel cinema means low-budget art films made outside the commercial mainstream.

His acting debut was Saat Hindustani, also in 1969. In 1972 he did the voice-over for Bawarchi.

3.3 When did he win his first award?

He won his first Filmfare Award for Anand (1971). Early flops included Sanjog, Bansi Birju and Ek Nazar.

4.1 Which film made him a star?

Zanjeer (1973) was his breakthrough. The writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar wrote it. The same pair also wrote Deewaar, Sholay and Don.

Many of his screen characters were named Vijay.

4.2 What roles did he play?

He was not only an action hero. He did comedy and romance too.

4.3 How many films did he make?

He made more than 35 films by the end of the 1970s.

5.1 What happened on the Coolie set?

On 26 July 1982 he was filming Coolie in Bangalore. A fight scene with his co-actor Puneet Issar went wrong. He suffered a serious abdominal injury.

Sources differ on which organ was hurt. Some say the spleen and others say the intestine.

5.2 How did the country react?

He was treated at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. On 2 August 1982 he was briefly declared clinically dead. The nation held prayer vigils for him. He recovered, and Coolie was released in 1983.

6.1 Did he win an election?

Yes. In 1984 Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. Bachchan stood for the Congress party in the Allahabad Lok Sabha seat.

He won 2,97,461 votes, or 68.21 per cent. H. N. Bahuguna of the Lok Dal got 1,09,666 votes. The winning margin was 1,87,795.

6.2 Why did his political career end?

He resigned from Parliament in 1987. He had served about three years.

7.1 What was ABCL?

ABCL was his film and entertainment company. It made films and ran events. It helped organise the 1996 Miss World contest in Bengaluru.

The company also made the sitcom Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993–94).

7.2 Why did it fail?

Films such as Mrityudaata and Lal Badshah did badly. ABCL went bankrupt in 1999. In April 1999 its debts were reported at Rs 80 crore.

8.1 How did he come back?

He returned with Mohabbatein (2000) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). Shah Rukh Khan acted with him in both films.

8.2 What is KBC?

Kaun Banega Crorepati is the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Bachchan hosted it from 2000 to 2006.

Shah Rukh Khan hosted the 2007 season, which lasted one season. Bachchan returned as host in 2010. Season 18 was announced for 10 August 2026.

8.3 What is his recent work?

He appeared in Brahmastra Part One: Shiva (2022). In Kalki 2898 AD (2024) he plays Ashwatthama. His Hollywood debut was The Great Gatsby (2013), when he was 70.

9.1 Which honours has he received?

The French award is the Officer rank, not Knight. One news report wrongly says Knight.

9.2 How many National Film Awards has he won?

He has won the Best Actor award four times. The films are Agneepath (award year 1991), Black (2006), Paa (2010) and Piku (2016).

10.1 When did he receive it?

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2018 was announced by Prakash Javadekar. The selection was unanimous. President Ram Nath Kovind presented it on 29 December 2019.

The prize is a Swarna Kamal, a shawl and Rs 10,00,000.

10.2 Who was the first recipient?

Devika Rani was the first recipient. The award was instituted in 1969. Lists differ on whether her year is 1969 or 1970, so avoid giving one year.

10.3 What did CDS ask?

11.1 Which facts do students mix up?

• Padma Shri 1984, Padma Bhushan 2001, Padma Vibhushan 2015.
• Legion of Honour: Officer rank, 27 January 2007, not Knight.
• Phalke Award for 2018, presented 29 December 2019.
• First Phalke recipient: Devika Rani, not Bachchan.
• He won the Allahabad seat in 1984 and resigned in 1987.
• Shah Rukh Khan hosted KBC in 2007. Bachchan hosted 2000–2006 and again from 2010.
• Voice-over for Bhuvan Shome and his acting debut in Saat Hindustani were both in 1969.