A Legend lives on...

Murukesh Krishnan

Born in a literary family, son of the great poet Sri Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan, Amitabh was initially named Inquilab, inspired by the phrase made famous during the Indian independence struggle, Inquilab Zindabad, which means "long live revolution". However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed the name to Amitabh which means, "the light that would never go off”. And he has lived up to it!

Hailed as one of the greatest stars in cinematic history, Amitabh Bachchan is a stalwart of Bollywod cinema. An actor par excellence, he has also played the roles of a playback singer, a film producer and a TV presenter with equal panache. Accolades and praises have been bestowed upon him from the time he made his first appearance; add to that three National Awards and fourteen Filmfare Awards and that proves his magnificence.

A Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan recipient, Amitabh also had a small stint in politics when he contested Allahabad's seat for the 8th Lok Sabha and won by one of the highest victory margins in general election history. He, however, resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool.

Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome. Thereafter, he got his first acting role as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani, a film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Madhu and Jalal Agha. Though the film was not a financial success, Bachchan won his first National Award for Best Newcomer.

Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna, another erstwhile superstar of Bollywood. Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life earned him his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

And that was just the beginning of his illustrious career that kept his brand as the megastar of Bollywood, intact!