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-filmi 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, a comeback which the actor wanted to forget. Critics written him off but his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. 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?. After a series of hits with Mohabbatein, Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow and Baghban and his most recent Khakee, 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. Now Ajitabh and the rest of the family have recently consulted an astrologer and compared the astrological charts of former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai, with that of Abhishek, hoping that they are compatible, and if so, Amitabh may get his only son married around September, 2006. 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.


Black (2005): $10,000
Saat Hindustani (1969): INR 5'000

Arguably India's greatest ever superstar. 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. While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health. 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. Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis. Is a vegetarian The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussaud's in London, UK Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Marlon Brando. Formed a popular screen couple with Rekha Became a grandfather in 1997 when his daughter Shweta gave birth to a daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda. Son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who passed away in January 2003. His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character name in over 20 movies. 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. Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree. 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. 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 1984, he was honored by the Indian government with the Padma Shri Award for his outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry. 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 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 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. 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. 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 the first choice of Rakesh Roshan's King Uncle (1993). But since the actor wasn't signing films then, Roshan opted for Jackie Shroff. 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). He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindi film industry. 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, was born on March 17th. Has a mannequin of himself in Madam Tussaud's Museum in England. Along with Shahrukh Khan, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan. 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.