Sometime in the 2000s, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra were expected to attend the now-defunct Stardust Awards. As an employee of Magna Publishing, the publisher of Stardust and several other magazines, I was present at the event and eagerly waiting for the silver screen’s Jai and Veeru, two characters essayed memorably by Bachchan and Dharmendra, respectively, in Ramesh Sippy’s curry Western Sholay (1975).
When they arrived together, 10-12 people who were a part of the crowd outside the venue that was watching the proceedings rushed to see them at close quarters. They pushed each other and most of them fell on the ground instead. The rest chanted “Bachchan, Dharmendra, Bachchan, Dharmendra” until the two of them sat in their reserved seats. Big B’s name could be heard much more loudly until that happened.
Far away from Mumbai, during my visit to Patna in 2000, the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati had just started. Bachchan was the host, which was why all the idlers who spent their free time in tea stalls on the street near my home suddenly disappeared to watch the television when KBC was telecast. KBC gave Bachchan the gift of popularity that nearly matched his popularity as an unrivalled superstar in the 70s and 80s. The show’s phenomenal success proved that the average soap opera viewer could be made to watch game shows, provided it was a well-presented affair and had a host with Bachchan’s mass appeal. Making it happen is a challenge for the best in the business of entertainment on television. While KBC is 16 seasons old in 2024, its host has turned 82. How time flies.
Bachchan’s filmography continues to become longer. He does not appear as the central character, but he is frequently seen in supporting roles of substance. He recently appeared as Ashwathhama in the Nag Ashwin-helmed big-budget dystopian fantasy Kalki 2898 AD. The character was loosely based on the warrior of the same name, who was condemned to immortality by Lord Krishna for trying to kill an unborn child in Mahabharat.
Although Prabhas leads the star cast in the film, Bachchan is the scene-stealer because of his commanding CGI-aided screen presence, his matchless baritone, and, of course, how brilliantly he makes his character come alive on the screen. Although the ambitious film falls short of what could have been, Bachchan delivers most of the best moments. Kalki 2898 AD makes one wonder how he can be so effective at an age in which almost every person leads a retired life.
Decades after he made his Bollywood acting debut in KA Abbas’s action film Saat Hindustani (1969), Bachchan’s magic still shines on the theatre screens. His fans who have gone past middle age fondly remember those films in which he starred as the ‘Angry Young Man’. The legendary duo of Salim-Javed wrote several of his films, the first of which was Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer (1973).
Zanjeer, in which he is a cop troubled by the memories of the murder of his parents during his childhood, is different from the usual commercial film of those times. So is Deewar, in which his performance as the dockyard worker who becomes a smuggler is an instance of brilliant acting. Other films written by Salim-Javed, notably Sholay (1975), which created viewership records about which we have no idea; Yash Chopra’s action drama Trishul (1978); and Chandra Barot’s action thriller Don (1978) made Bachchan a superstar unlike anyone else. He overshadowed his competitors and was famously known as the one-man industry.
More than five decades after he first appeared on the silver screen, Bachchan has been a part of numerous successes in his career. He has found a permanent place in the hearts of millions with his body of work, which has much more than just his anti-hero roles. He has earned applause for his ability to shine in comic moments in action comedies such as Manmohan Desai’s Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Raj N Sippy’s Satte Pe Satta (1982), Prakash Mehra’s Namak Halaal (1982), David Dhawan’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) in which Govinda had the better-written role and Shaad Ali’s crime comedy Bunty Aur Babli (2005) in which he appeared in a pivotal supporting role.
Versatile, punctual and hard-working, Bachchan has given many acting lessons with his performances. Even in an ensemble cast film like Sholay whose most popular character is the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh played by Amjad Khan, Bachchan excels with his portrayal of a rogue who, along with his partner, wants to end Gabbar’s reign of terror. In Mukul Anand’s crime drama Agneepath (1990), the character of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan is out to seek revenge for his father’s death. Bachchan’s performance as Vijay in Agneepath has an unusual quality: his guttural baritone. Inspired by the Mumbai gangster Manya Surve, it has found many fans with time. So has Agneepath, a commercial failure at the time of its release.
A few years after the start of his career, Bachchan’s excellence was an accepted fact. However, he has been able to expand his range in the last couple of decades. He played an alcoholic teacher to a deaf and blind girl in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s drama Black (2005). He was a progeria patient in R Balki’s comedy-drama Paa (2009), and a hypochondriac widowed father in Shoojit Sircar’s comedy Piku (2015). These performances have become indelible memories for every person who is in love with Hindi cinema.
Amitabh Bachchan is a towering presence in Bollywood. His good films have given the industry many reasons to be proud of – as he continues to perform in front of the camera with as much passion and professionalism as ever.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature, cinema and pop culture. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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