Date of Birth
11 October 1942, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Birth Name
Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav
Nickname
Big B
Munna
One Man Industry
Angry Young Man
Bollywood's Shahenshah
Amith
AB Sr.
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini Biography
Son of well known poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan. He has a brother named Ajitabh. He completed his education from Uttar Pradesh and moved to Bombay to find work as a film star, in vain though, as film-makers preferred someone with a fairer skin, and he was not quite fair enough. But they did use one of his other assets - his deep baritone voice - which was used for narration and background commentary. He was successful in being cast in Saat Hindustani. He got his break in Bollywood after a letter of introduction from the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, as he was a friend of her son Rajiv Gandhi. This is how Amitabh made an entry in Bollywood, starting with Zanjeer, co-starred with his future wife-to-be Jaya Bhaduri, and since then there has been no looking back. He married Jaya Bhaduri, an actress in her own rights, he has two kids, Shweta and Abhishek. Shweta has been married, lives a non-filmy life and has a child. Being friends with Rajiv Gandhi, got him to decide to run for seat in the Congress from his hometown but had to leave midterm because of controversies, particularly after Rajiv and he were implicated in the now infamous "Bofors" case along with the U.K. based Hinduja Brothers. After a four year break, he was back in the unsuccessful Mrityudaata (1997), a comeback which the actor wanted to forget. Critics written him off but his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). But four flops in 1999 and incurring debt of over 90 Crores rupees of his sinking company ABCL saw him at an all-time low. To make matters worse, after the defeat of the Congress party, Amitabh lost considerable political support, the opposition made him a target, and his credit rating deteriorated to such an extent that a leading nationalized bank, Canara Bank, sued him for outstanding loans. He did bounce back, presenting the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire called "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000). After a series of hits with Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003) and his most recent Khakee (2004), a 60 plus Bachchan is showing no signs of slowing down and proving the critics wrong once again.
His son Abhishek is also an actor by his own rights. Amitabh and Jaya were interested in getting Abhishek married to Karishma Kapoor, the daughter of Babita and Randhi Kapoor, they went through a formal engagement, but later broke it off.
The former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai, and Abhishek, were formally engaged on Sunday January 14, 2007, at the Bachchan residence in Juhu, Bombay, with the marriage taking place at the Bachchan residence on April 20, 2007.
Currently, he is one of the most busiest actors and singers in Bollywood as well as on TV, as can be seen from the commercials that he appears on, especially on Sahara One. Looks like there are no limits for this super-star and once the "Angry Young Man". of Bollywood.
Mini Biography
The trademark deep baritone voice, the tall, brooding persona, and intense eyes, made Amitabh Bachchan the ideal "Angry Young Man" in the 1970s, thereby changing the face of Hindi cinema. The son of the late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan, he was born in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. After completing his education from Sherwood College, Nainital, and Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, he moved to Calcutta to work for shipping firm Shaw and Wallace. Later, he moved to Bombay and struggled for a while to get his foot in the door of the Hindi film industry. The lanky, dark, and intensely brooding persona did not go down well with directors who were looking for wise-cracking, fair, loverboys - the trademark of the Indian hero in the 1960s. Starting with the low key Saat Hindustani, Bachchan struggled through many roles and was relegated at times to doing voice-overs and in one instance playing a deaf-mute (his deep baritone voice might have overshadowed the other actors!). He broke through with Zanjeer (the Chain) in 1973 playing opposite his real-life love interest and future wife Jaya Bhaduri. His persona seemed apt for the 1970s, capturing the resentment of underemployed youth and the increasing cult of violence. Bachchan reworked the image of the Hindi film hero with major hits like Deewar, Sholay, Trishul, Don, Kala Patthar, and Shakti. Adapting former screen idol Dilip Kumar's mannerisms and adding his own flamboyance, he popularized the violent melodrama. He proved that he had an equal flair for tragedies (Deewar, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Shakti) and comedies (Chupke Chupke, Don, Naseeb, Amar Akbar Anthony) as well. His most memorable performance was as the renegade against a harsh society in Deewar. After Amar Akbar Anthony in which he reveled in the role of the Cathlolic bootlegger - he played similar "masala" roles, movies that required action, comedy, tragedy, and romance in one character. This had disastrous consequences later with movies disintegrating into Amitabh variety shows rather than plot-driven stories. Bachchan was dubbed the Superstar, taking over that title from Rajesh Khanna, something he hung on to until the mid 1980s when the floor widened after his temporary departure. At the height of his popularity he was injured in an accident while shooting for the film Coolie - long lines of people prayed for his recovery at the Breach Candy hospital, underscoring his megastar status. He left films in 1985 to become a Member of Parliament from Allahabad constituency as a Congress party candidate, as a favor to his family friend Rajiv Gandhi - the new Prime MInister of India. A report of involvement in financial irregularities (of which he was completely cleared later) made him decide to step down as MP. His return in 1987 was lukewarm as the Hindi film industry had moved on and newer, younger heroes essayed the part of Angry Young Man with more conviction. Bachchan seemed to have lost his heart in making films as his later roles did not show the flicker of passion that had marked earlier efforts in the 1970s. In 1989, for the first time since 1976, three of his films were flops i.e. they could not recover their money (in the Hindi film industry a flop is a film that does not recover a distributor's price, not the producer's cost). A series of lackluster films in the 1990s pointed to a long overdue exit, common to many other stars. A seemingly well-thought out venture to start a production company ABCL landed him in immense debts. Astonishingly, he burst back with a double act: one, playing the stern patriarch (the kind against which he had rebelled in the 1970s but which role was suited to his gravelly voice), and two, reinventing himself as a brand that in turn, could market anything. He began the latter by hosting the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Kaun Banegaa Crorepati) and is now back in demand for endorsements, advertisements as well as many movie roles. At sixty plus, Amitabh Bachchan is a greater icon than he was at the height of his popularity three decades ago. His son, Abhishek is considered a talented actor who has not yet broken out as a star.
Mini Biography
Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad. He is the son of late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan did his schooling from Sherwood College, Nainital and later on pursued a degree in science from the Delhi University. His first job was in Shaw Wallace and later worked as a freight broker for a shipping firm called Bird and Co. But his destiny had something else to offer and it was the journey to stardom. He made his debut in the film Saat Hindustani (1969) which was directed by K.A. Abbas. Film failed on the box-office but Amitabh was noticed by film makers like Hrishikesh Mukherji and Sunil Dutt. Hrishikesh Mukherji (whom Amitabh treat as his Godfather),gave him a role in his two films, Anand and Guddi. Anand was the third film, which became a hit and he got best supporting actor filmfare award. Amitabh was getting the roles but they were not significant. Finally he got a chance to work in "Zanjeer", role for which he was not the first choice. Film turned out to be super-hit. By then a new avatar had emerged on silver screen, an "Angry young man". But this was his one aspect. He was a poet (Kabhi Kabhi), an decent professor (Kasme Vaade), a comedian (Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don), a dying lover (Mukaddar Ka Sikander).He did almost all kinds of roles. In 1973, after release of Zanjeer, Amitabh got married with Jaya Bhaduri. He became father at the time of release of Chupke Chupke. During the shooting of "Coolie" on 26th July 1982, he was injured and admitted to Breech Candy hospital. The whole nation prayed for his fast recovery and by the grace of God he was gifted with a new life. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, then P.M. of India, postponed her foreign trip and visited the hospital. After recovery Amitabh returned on silver screen, with Sharabi and Giraftar like hit movies. In the original script of "Coolie" Iqbal (Amitabh) had to die but Teji Bachchan asked Manmohan Desai to change it for her personal reasons. The last scene where he stands in the balcony and thank the people, was the real scene, a way to thank the people of India, "Main to chala gaya tha, laut aaya hoon to bus aapki duaon se...." Amitabh also tried his hand in politics in 1984 after the death of Mrs. Gandhi. He defeated the then called Chankya of the Indian politics, Hemvanti Nandan Bahuguna. But some how things went wrong and he got trapped in the dirty game of politics of anti-Rajiv Gandhi. Although during this period his classics "Main Azad Hoon" and "Agneepath" were released, but Amitabh was getting older. Amitabh decided to take a break in 1992, Khuda Gawah was the last release. He then launched ABCL which was a multi-faceted commercial enterprise. This was the major failure and he was surrounded by unthinkable debt. This is hard to imagine at that time how he survived but again he proved that he is not an ordinary man who live and die. With "Kaun Banega Crorepati" and "Mohabattein" he redefined his position in Indian cinema. Amitabh emerged again as a winner and slapped the critics who declared him "finished". Even in this age roles are written for him. Every film maker is dreaming to cast him in his/her film. He was declared as Star of the Millenium by BBC poll, by Stardust and even at the survey for statue at Madam Tusad. These are not mere coincident! May God bless him.
Spouse
Jaya Bhaduri (3 June 1973 - present) 2 children
Trade Mark
His baritone voice.
Trivia
Arguably India's greatest ever superstar.
He launched a multi-faceted commercial enterprise known simply as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, or ABCL. ABCL is engaged in production, distribution and all other aspects of the movie industry.
Had a very close association with the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi (also Prime Minister) and he was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home town of Allahabad. But his stint in politics did not last long and he was implicated in the infamous Swedish Bofors Gun deal scandal along with Rajiv Gandhi, the U.K. based Hinduja brothers, and others.
Was one of the judges for the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant.
While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health.
Was a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company executive in Calcutta, India.
Went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in the hill-station town of Nainital, and from there to Delhi University where he earned a double MA degree.
When he was just trying to get a break in movies he was told to soften his 'deep' voice. However it was soon realised that his deep rich voice was excellent for narration. He has provided narrations for several films.
Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.
Father of Abhishek Bachchan
Is a vegetarian
Presenter of Kaun Banega Crorepati, India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire
The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussaud's in London, UK
Once the highest paid Bollywood actor in the film industry.
Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Marlon Brando.
Was considered 'finished' in the late nineties after super star status for 20 years, a string of flops and failed political and business ambitions. But made an unexpected comeback as host of the popular TV quiz series "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000) which put him right back on the number one spot of Bollywood actors over 40, reaffirming his reputation as the living legend of Indian cinema with a new series of high profile films (Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) etc.)
Formed a popular screen couple with Rekha
He also sung in many movies such as Laawaris, Toofan and Silsila.
Became a grandfather in 1997 when his daughter Shweta gave birth to a daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda.
Works with the Indian government's media campaign to publicize the National Immunization Days and encourage people to take their children to be vaccinated against polio and other deadly diseases.
Son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who passed away in January 2003.
Suffers from asthma.
His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character name in over 20 movies.
His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was considering naming him 'Inquilab' (which means 'revolution') before settling down for Amitabh which means 'brilliance unlimited'.
On his 61st birthday, he relaunched ABCL as AB Corp. ABCL had to be closed after debts of more than millions of rupees. However, Amitabh has decided to relaunch it with a name change.
Actress Nirupa Roy is mostly cast as his mother and last time she featured was in Lal Baadshah (1999).
Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree.
The facial caricature of the Indian comic book character 'Supremo' is based upon him.
Following a near fatal accident while shooting Coolie (1983/I), during which he suffered internal bleeding and required 17 bottles of blood, he became a champion for the cause of encouraging more people to donate blood.
Singer Sudesh Bhonsle dubs his voice for playback songs in many movies.
At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie Aks (2001).
In 1996, he released an album called "Aby Baby". This album was released under ABCL and featured songs like "Eer Bir Phatte" and remixes of his songs from his early movies "O Saathi Re" and "Kabhi Kabhi". "Eer Bir Phatte" was inspired by one of his famous dialogues in his movie _Adalat (1976/I)_.
In 1984, he was honored by the Indian government with the Padma Shri Award for his outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry.
He is the only actor who achieved at least one hit every year for 15 consecutive years - from 1972 in Bombay to Goa (1972) to 1986 in Aakhree Raasta (1986).
He has played double and triple roles in a number of films. His double role starrers include _Adalat (1976/I)_, Don (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), The Great Gambler (1979), _Bemisaal (1982)_, Desh Premee (1982), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Aakhree Raasta (1986), Toofan (1989), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Lal Baadshah (1999) and Sooryavansham (1999). Mahaan (1983) had the superstar in a triple role.
He was closely associated with Indira Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, and her son, Rajiv Gandhi. It was Mrs. Gandhi who wrote a letter of introduction for Amitabh, and that's how he got his break in Bollywood.
He was the original choice to play a role in Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai (2003), which he declined and was finally played by Om Puri
His survival and his success could in short be termed best in his wife's own words that "Amit ji is a loner !"
Although Amitabh Bachchan's Immaan Dharam (1977) proved to be a disaster, the producer went ahead and announced Asmaan with Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, with Mohan Kumar in the director's seat. Salim-Javed, who had penned the script of Immaan Dharam, were scripting Asmaan as well. However, the film was shelved subsequently.
Rakesh Kumar, who had directed Khoon Pasina (1977), Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Do Aur Do Paanch (1980) and Yaarana (1981), had turned producer and announced Charlie, with Amitabh Bachchan enacting the title role. Padmini Kolhapure had been cast opposite the Big B. However, the project never got made.
Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar were seen on screen for the first time in Ramesh Sippy's Shakti (1982). But much before Shakti happened, Eagle Films had signed Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan for their new project, which was to be directed by Yash Chopra. However, the project did not materialize subsequently.
In 1976 Amitabh Bachchan was to star in Manoj Kumar's Naya Bharat, alongside Amitabh it was also supposed to star Manoj Kumar, Hema Malini, Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman and Rishi Kapoor. The film was shelved subsequently.
Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Mithun Chakraborty and Rati Agnihotri were teamed in Tala Chabi, produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Raj N. Sippy. One of the foremost character actors then, Pran, had been signed to enact the main villain's role. An official announcement was made in April 1982. The movie never took off.
Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to play one of the lead roles in Shashi Kapoor's Utsav (1984) however; Amitabh opted out of the film. Shashi Kapoor replaced him.
Amitabh Bachchan was the first choice of Rakesh Roshan's King Uncle (1993). But since the actor wasn't signing films then, Roshan opted for Jackie Shroff.
Prakash Mehra was planning on making Chankaya Chanddragupta and had signed Amitabh Bachchan for the main role. The movie was shelved.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted Amitabh Bachchan to play the lead role of Inspector Inayat Khan in Mission Kashmir (2000). The reason why Amitabh Bachchan declined the role was because of his commitment to Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000).
Kader Khan wanted to direct him as the lead hero in Jaahil, unfortunately the movie was never made.
He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindi film industry.
Is teetotal
On 31 October 2006, he shocked the unit of a forthcoming movie Shootout at Lokhandwala by recording 23 scenes in 5 hours. Achieving this feat was unheard of.
His daughter, Shweta, is married to Nikhil Nanda, who is the grandson of Raj Kapoor. (Raj Kapoor's daughter, Ritu, took on the last name of Nanda when she married Rajan).
His daughter, Shweta, was born on March 17th.
His mom, Teji Bachchan, passed away in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on December 22, 2007, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 93.
Has a mannequin of himself in Madam Tussaud's Museum in England. Along with Shahrukh Khan, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan.
Suffers from vitiligo.
In the 2008 movie, Slumdog Millionaire, Amitabh Bachchan is the answer to Jamal's first question in the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The question: Who was the star in the 1973 hit film Zanjeer? Through Jamal's flashbacks we get to see Amitabh Bachchan in action.
Personal Quotes
I have never really been confident about my career at any stage.
Everyone must accept "that we will age and age is not always flattering".
I wish I had time to learn all the languages of our country, I wish I knew how to play a musical instrument. There are many things that I feel I have missed out on.
(Referring to Abhishek Bachchan) "Like any other father I feel proud to see my son on the silver screen."
(When asked about his dancing with Shilpa Shetty in Lal Baadshah (1999)) "But I would dance with my daughter if I could. And if I can dance with Shilpa Shetty, then I will do that."
I have never been a superstar and never believed in it.
"The amount of things I have been through and the remarkable ways in which the body has reacted is just phenomenal. No wonder I became religious, because you don't know why something's happening to you and you don't know how you bounced back."
His thoughts on working in Hollywood: "You don't see Indians in Hollywood films around which a story can revolve. As soon as we have a social presence in your society, I am sure there will be many actors from our part of the world that will be acting in Hollywood films. I have always been a great admirer of Marlon Brando, Al Paccinno, Robert De Niro. I would love to walk into the frame, hold their briefcase!"
Early work: 1969–1972
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 Film Award for Best Newcomer.[8]
Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Amitabh then played his first negative role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in Parwaana (1971). This was followed by several films including Reshma Aur Shera (1971). During this time, he made 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.
Rise to stardom: 1973–1983
Director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film Zanjeer (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the "angry young man" of Bollywood cinema,.[2] He earned a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. 1973 was also the year he married Jaya and around this time they appeared in several films together, not only in Zanjeer but in films such as Abhimaan which followed and was released only a month after their marriage. Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram 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 Best Supporting Actor Award.
In 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as Kunwara Baap and Dost, before playing a supporting role in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship. Bachchan then played the leading role in film Majboor, released on 6 December 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag. The film was only a moderate success at the box office.[9] In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke, the crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili. 1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film Deewar, opposite Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh, which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4.[10] Indiatimes Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.[11] Released on 15 August 1975 was Sholay (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning INR 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation.[12] Bachchan played the role of Jaidev. In 1999, BBC India declared it the "Film of the Millennium" and like Deewar, has been cited by Indiatimes movies as amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.[11] In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with the special distinction award called Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.
Bachchan starred in comedies such as Chupke Chupke (1975) and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and in films such as Kabhie Kabhie (1976). In 1976, he was once again cast by director Yash Chopra in his second film, Kabhi Kabhie, a romantic tale in which Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja played by actress Rakhee Gulzar. The film saw him again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 1977, he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Amar Akbar Anthony where he played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves. In 1978 he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year.[13] He once again resumed double roles in films such as Kasme Vaade as Amit and Shankar and Don 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 performed in Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikander which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. He was billed a "one-man industry" by the French director François Truffaut.[14]
In 1979, for the first time, Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the film Mr. Natwarlal in which he starred alongside Rekha. His performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the Filmfare Best Male Playback Awards. In 1979, he also received Best Actor nomination for Kaala Patthar (1979) and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed film Dostana, in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. Dostana proved to be the top grossing film of 1980.[15] In 1981, he starred in Yash Chopra's melodrama film Silsila, where he starred alongside his wife Jaya and rumoured lover Rekha. Other films of this period include Ram Balram (1980), Shaan (1980), Lawaaris (1981), and Shakti (1982) which pitted him against legendary actor Dilip Kumar.[16]
1982 injury while filming Coolie
On 26 July 1982, while filming Coolie in the University Campus in Bangalore, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar.[17] Bachchan was performing his own 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 hospital for many months, at times close to death. The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later, there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating.[18] Nevertheless, he spent many months recovering and resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, the film was a box office success.[19]
The director, Manmohan Desai, altered the ending of Coolie after Bachchan's accident. Bachchan's character was originally intended to have been killed off but after the change of script, the character lived in the end. It would have been inappropriate, said Desai, for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen. Also, in the released film the footage of the fight scene is frozen at the critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking this as the instant of the actor's injury and the ensuing publicity of the accident.[18]
Later, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis. His illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to quit films and venture into politics. At this time he became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film would be received. Before every release he would negatively state, "Yeh film to flop hogi!" ("This film will flop").[20]
Politics: 1984–87
In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's seat of 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by the one of the highest victory margins in general election history (68.2% of the vote).[21] His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool. The resignation followed the implication of Bachchan and his brother in the "Bofors scandal" by a newspaper, which he vowed to take to court. Bachchan was eventually found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.[22]
His old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during a financial crisis due to the failure of his company ABCL. Therefore Bachchan started to support Amar Singh's political party, the Samajwadi party. Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and became a Rajya Sabha member.[23] Bachchan has continued to do favors for the Samajwadi party, including advertisements and political campaigns. These activities have recently gotten him into trouble again in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous incident of submission of legal papers by him, stating that he is a farmer.[24]
A 15 year press ban against Bachchan was imposed during his peak acting years by Stardust and some of the other film magazines. In his own defense, Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets until late 1989.[25]
Slump and retirement: 1988–1992
In 1988, Bachchan returned to films, playing the title role in Shahenshah, which was a box office success due to the hype of Bachchan's comeback.[26] After the success of his comeback film however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films failed at the box office. The 1991 hit film, Hum, for which he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award, looked like it might reverse this trend, but the momentum was short-lived as his string of box office failures continued. Notably, despite the lack of hits, it was during this period that Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Actor, for his performance as a Mafia don in the 1990 film Agneepath. These years would be the last he would be seen on screen for some time. After the release of Khuda Gawah in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years. In 1994, one of his delayed films Insaniyat was released but was also a box office failure.[27]
Producer and acting comeback 1996–99
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