Making of the Big B

By: Poonam Bisht Success, failure, criticism, injuries, adulation and humiliation, Amitabh Bachchan experienced it all. He attained superstardom accompanied by unmatched popularity but he also saw the times when nothing was working in his favour. Neither the luck nor the movies and guess what! He was debt-ridden. But he lost neither the faith nor the courage to face the trials and tribulations of life. And…..he won the battle-nah the war, thanks to his perseverance and of course the right career moves. Here’s a sneak peak into his journey to superstardom, subsequent failure and a remarkable comeback!Debut and initial struggle Amitabh landed up in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1968. Initially, he had to struggle a lot because of his unconventional looks, hoarse voice (he was even rejected in the audition for a programme in All India Radio) and his height. At 6’3”, he was considered far too tall by the filmmakers. In those days, when there was complete dominance of romantic heroes like Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra, Amitabh did not seem to be a typical hero material to most of the film-makers to whom he went seeking a break. Recalling those days of struggle, Amitabh once said, “I had spent a night on a bench in Marine Drive. Then I went to Andheri where I stayed with Mahmood’s brother Anwar Ali. Then I used to stay with my brother who lived with his friends at Sunita Apartments, Colaba. It was a two-bedroom apartment and we were eight of us. Much later I got my own rented hose in Juhu Vile Parle scheme.” After several months of depression, rejection and humiliation, ultimately, it was K A Abbas who gave Amitabh his first break in ‘Saat Hindustani’ (1969). But the film failed miserably, with Bachchan going almost unnoticed. Amitabh played the lead role, for the first time in his career, in ‘Pyar Ki Kahani’ (1971), directed by Ravikant Nagaich. In 1971, Anand (with superstar Rajesh Khanna) and Guddi (with Jaya Bhaduri) were released. While Amitabh’s performance was appreciated in both the movies, he went on to receive Best Supporting Actor Award for Anand. However, at this time, there were reports that some of very important scenes of Amitabh were cut shot from the final copy at the request of the then ‘super star’. Then came a series of flops like Parwaana, Pyaar ki Kahani, Reshma Aur Shera, Bansi Birju, Bombay to Goa, Ek Nazar, Jaban, Raaste ka Patthar, Sanjog, Bandhe Haath and Gehri Chal. At this time, nothing seemed to be going right for the actor. His career really needed a big push- a right break. Birth of “The Angry Young Man” Amitabh’s 13th movie, not only changed the destiny of the talented actor forever, but also revolutionised the scenario of Indian Film Industry. Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer (released in 1973) went down in history and gave birth to the concept of the ‘Angry Young Man’- immortalized by Amitabh Bachchan. The audience, who had so far seen plenty of romantic actors running around the trees and wooing the actresses, suddenly woke up after being introduced to the new expression of anger. The movie was released at the time when disillusionment had set in amongst the youth of the country following widespread unemployment and corruption. They suddenly found a their new hero in Amitabh, who gave voice to their anger and frustration. The storyline was written by none other than the legendary film writers Salim-Javed. The movie had everything. Suspense, emotions, drama, thrill, romance, friendship and a little psychology, with a horse in a dream representing the suppressed memory of a murdered family. Amitabh Bachchan, who was preparing to pack up his bags and return to his native Allahabad if this film also failed. But for this movie, he never looked back since then. Journey to superstardom! Year 1973 brought good fortunes for Amitabh. He got back-to back hits in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Abhimaan and Zanjeer. He also managed to take sweet revenge on Rajesh Khanna by receiving thunderous applause from the audience and the critics for his performance in Namak Haram, which was tipped to be another Khanna-hit. He got married to actress Jaya Bhaduri, with whom he fell into love with during the shooting of ‘Abhimaan’. This was followed by Salim-Javed penned superhit ‘Deewar’ which firmly established Amitabh Bachchan as the new SUPERSTAR. He not only won the whistles, applauses or sympathies of the audience but also etched his name their hearts forever. His dialogues in the movie went down in cinematic history as one of the bests ever. Then came the masterpiece ‘Sholay’ in the same year. Amitabh also registered his name in the category of delivering the wittiest dialogue of all time by asking, “Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti” to Hema Malini in the movie. Between 1976-1988, Amitabh reached the pinnacle of his success. Having firmly established his reputation as the Angry Young Man with another hit Trishul, he forayed into comedy and romance and became the box-office king. Some of his biggest hits were Don, Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Kaala Pathar, Suhaag, Shaan, Laawaris, Kaalia, Naseeb, Mard, Satte Pe Satta, Coolie, Namak Halal, Sharabi, Shehanshah. His dialogues created magic of sorts and mesmerized the audience. They swayed to his tunes and he became the apple of everyone’s eyes. The nation almost came to a standstill following his accident of the sets of Coolie reflecting the alarming levels of his popularity. It was not seen even in the case of any of the preceding superstars. Superstar’s downfall In early 1990s, film industry slowly began to see the rising of the Khan trio – that is Amir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan (who too was destined to make history like Big B himself). A few years later, Amitabh started his own production company, the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL). The company soon brought the downfall of the actor. ABCL’s film distribution plans entailed purchasing films at high prices and earning back these high prices as well as a whopping profit. This worked in the case of films but other ventures resulted in flops outweighing the hits by a ratio of 10:1. ABCL burnt its hands in hosting the Miss World Contest and booked a loss of over Rs 70 million for that one night`s work itself. This was followed by a Star Track contest whose winners were not placed in a single film or television serial. ABCL fell on evil days, buried neck deep in debt. Amitabh’s films like Lal Badshah, Chote Miyan Bade Miyan flopped miserably at the box-office. And he was again ‘written off’ by the industry. In Amitabh’s own words,” That was the time when I was really in need of some good movies, but it seemed that the most of the producers and directors were hesitant in offering me any roles.” The superstar, had many sleepless nights and there were reports of the mortgaging of his bungalow Prateeksha. It seemed everyone at the time was evading eye contact with him. He was all alone (with only family by his side) in the battle against professional failure and financial crisis. He got a much-needed support at this hour of crisis by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who stood by him in good stead. Big B’s remarkable comeback Every successful man has to see failures at some time or the other. Amitabh Bachchan’s dry run with luck too stretched for several years. But the man did not lose heart, he was just anxiously waiting for his right break. Finally, Lady Luck smiled on him and he got the one in the form of Siddharth Basu’s offer for him to host a TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (inspired by the famous American TV show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’). Amitabh grabbed the opportunity after much thought and rest is history. Bachchan made a remarkable comeback as the programme created history in the popularity ratings. He was loaded with offers of films and advertisements and he once again became a hot property. Within a short span he repaid all his debts and soon began to be counted amongst the highest tax payers in the country. He is today the busiest star in the country. Bachchan has set a remarkable example before the aspiring actors by braving all the odds to emerge victorious. His performance in Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar and Black is proof enough that he is still the best and bigger than ever.