Dasavathaaram is a 2008 Tamil science fiction disaster film, co-written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Kamal Haasan, who wrote the screenplay and story of the film, in ten distinct roles. Asin appears in a dual role and Mallika Sherawat plays a subsidiary role. The film, which had been under production for nearly three years, was produced and primarily distributed by Venu Ravichandran, who made the film with a budget of 60 crore (US$11.97 million).^[1] Primary filming locations included the USA and the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The soundtrack to the film was composed by Himesh Reshammiya and the background score by Devi Sri Prasad.

The plot of the film revolves around bringing together the lives of several individuals during the week prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; the main person being a research scientist who develops a bio-weapon and makes sure that it does not fall into the wrong hands. Along with it, several other people also get involved in the process and all their stories connect after the striking of a tsunami, bringing in philosophical views into the picture.

After delays in post-production, the film was released worldwide on June 13, 2008 with 1000 prints^[2] in Tamil as well as a dubbed version in Telugu It was touted to have become a commercial success and one of the highest grossers in Indian cinema after a significant run in the theaters, while its critical response was mixed. It also generated a considerable amount of revenue overseas. The aspects of the visual effects and the performance of the cast were appreciated while the music was universally criticized. Prior to and after release, the film had its share of controversies with regard to plagiarism, the portrayal of Hindus and Sherawat's attire at the audio launch. A Hindi dubbed version, Dashavatar was released almost a year later.

Plot[link]

Govindarajan Ramaswamy (Haasan), a bio-scientist speaks from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium about the Chaos theory and the Butterfly effect. He begins by reciting events from the 12th century in Chidambaram, where king Kulothunga Chola II (Napoleon), a saivite, tortures vaishnavites and intends to destroy an idol of Govindaraja. Rangarajan Nambi (Haasan), a vaishnavite, protects it and offends the king, resulting in being submerged into the sea with the idol.

In 20 December 2004, a bio-technology lab in the USA designs a virus intended as a bio-weapon. After understanding its potential, Dr. Govind, one of the scientists involved, refuses to give it away due to fear of misuse. However, his boss, Dr. Sethu, has other plans and tries to sell it to a terrorist group when Govind flees with it. Christian Fletcher (Haasan), an ex- CIA, follows him and attempts to seize the weapon, when it is sent to India by accident. Govind sneaks into the aircraft carrying the virus and changes its location. After arriving in India, he is questioned by Balram Naidu (Haasan), an inspector. He unsuccessfully tries to explain the series of incidents, but to no avail.

In the meantime, Fletcher, who has married Jasmine (Mallika Sherawat), and arrived in India, using her as a translator, threatens Govind and takes him away in a jeep with a police officer. After exiting the city, Govind successfully escapes from Fletcher to Chidambaram. Fletcher follows suit, after getting a cab, along with Jasmine. After Govind attempts to persuade the receivers of package carrying the virus, it finds itself inside an idol of Govindaraja. In the chaos, Jasmine dies in an accident. Govind and Andal (Asin), who is the grand-daughter of Krishnaveni (Haasan), an old woman for whom the package was sent, try to run away from Fletcher, and arrive in a ground where illegal sand miners are working. They sneak out, unnoticed after the interference of Vincent Boovaragan (Haasan), a radical Christian, and save a Muslim family from a car-crash in the process. One of them, a lady, faints suddenly and is taken to a hospital, where Govind procures a cooling box to store the weapon, as it is technically unstable and its temperature needs to be maintained. He meets Avatar Singh (Haasan), a pop singer, who is also there for treatment of his throat cancer. He prescribes medicines in a similar-looking box and before leaving the hospital, unknowingly switches places with Govind’s box.

Fletcher, follows them, takes Andal and the Muslim family as hostage into their house, from where Govind is blackmailed to bring back the box he is carrying. Unable to do anything, he reaches the place, only to find out that Avatar Singh must be having the weapon. The police surround the house, forcing Fletcher, Govind and Andal to flee in a jeep. Shinghen Narahsi (Haasan), a Japanese martial arts expert, whose sister had been killed by Fletcher, follows them. Avatar Singh finishes his supposedly last performance and finds out the blunder in the box, only to find himself shot by Fletcher after having a row.

Govind and Andal flee to reach a construction site, where Govind takes out the weapon before giving the idol to Fletcher. The sun dawns on 26 December 2004. Govind gets an idea from drainage workers to immerse the virus in a large quantity of salt to destroy it. He goes to the sea, only to be stopped by Fletcher. Shinghen Narahasi arrives and fights physically with Fletcher, who opens and swallows the virus in humiliation. Suddenly, a tsunami strikes, washing away Fletcher, and causing heavy amounts of destruction to the coast. Poovaragan’s house is struck and he dies in a car after saving a child. Andal, Govind and Narahasi get into a boat. Krishnaveni arrives and begins to cry after perceiving Poovaragan as her long-lost son. After relief measures are taken, Andal argues that god had given the tsunami to get rid of the weapon. Govind responds by asking if god would destroy hundreds of lives. The idol submerged in the twelfth century surfaces. The scene shifts to the stadium, where Avatar Singh, who had his cancerous growth taken away by the shot he received, along with several others, listening to the speech by Govind, as the credits roll.

Cast[link]

• Kamal Haasan as Rangaraja Nambi, Govindarajan Ramaswamy, George W. Bush, Avtaar Singh, Christian Fletcher, Shinghen Narahasi, Krishnaveni, Vincent Poovaraagan, Kalifullah Mukhtaar and Balram Naidu
• Asin Thottumkal as Kodhai Radha and Andaal
• Mallika Sherawat as Jasmine
• Jayaprada as Ranjitha Singh
• Napolean as Kulothunga Chola II
• P. Vasu as J. Ragavendra (Jaa Raa)
• Chakri Toleti as Sairam
• Shammu as assistant biotechnologist
• M. S. Bhaskar as Broadway Kumar
• Vaiyapuri as Prabhu
• Chitti Babu as Ekambaram
• Santhana Bharathi as J. Ragavendra's brother-in-law
• Rekha as Meenakshi Ragavendra
• R. Sundarrajan as the Member of Legislative Assembly
• Nagesh as Sheikh Mukhtaar
• K. R. Vijaya as Megha Mukhtaar
• Ramesh Khanna as the doctor

Production[link]

Development[link]

Kamal Haasan came up with an original storyline and approached prominent directors, to direct it, when K. S. Ravikumar accepted the offer. It began soon after the announcement of another magnum opus, Sivaji: The Boss starring Rajnikanth.^[3] K. S. Ravikumar and Kamal Haasan came together for the fourth time following their three previous successful ventures, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali and Panchathantiram. Kamal was set to play ten different roles in the film, making it the first time that an actor has appeared in so many roles in world cinema.^[4] Venu Ravichandran, who had a profitable 2006, signed up to produce the venture securing distribution rights in the process. Following nearly a year of pre-production, deciding the cast and the locations, the film began its first schedule on September 11, 2006.^[5]

Ashmith Kunder was signed up to edit the film, despite early indications that A. Sreekar Prasad would have landed the offer.^[6] The director, K. S. Ravikumar also wrote the script for the film following negotiations with Sujatha Rangarajan, who died before the release of the film, and Crazy Mohan. Late Jeeva was initially announced as the cinematographer of the film, and he had taken over the role for a day of the shooting. However, the shots taken by him did not appear in the film and Ravi Varman became the director of photography.^[7]

Casting[link]

Between the announcement of the project and prior to the launch a year later, several actress were signed up, who then either opted out or were removed from the project. Vidya Balan was first signed up and set to make her debut in Tamil films, however due to the long inactivity of the film, Balan opted out citing date clashes with her Bollywood project.^[8] Following the removal of Balan, it was reported that each of the ten characters portrayed by Kamal Haasan in the film, would have a female lead opposite them. Actresses who were considered but failed to make the final shortlist were: Mumtaj,^[9] Kiran Rathod,^[9] Meena,^[9] Nadhiya,^[10] Kamalinee Mukerji,^[11] Nithya Das,^[11] Meera Jasmine,^[11] and Vasundhara Das.^[11] Moreover, actresses Balan, Trisha Krishnan^[12] and Nayantara opted out due to date clashes.^[13] Furthermore, Shriya Saran was forced to opt out of the project by the producers of her other film Sivaji: The Boss, a film built up as the rival to Dasavathaaram at the box-office.^[14]

Finally, the major female lead role was given to Asin, who was later assigned two distinct roles in the project.^[15] The second lead female role in the film went to Mallika Sherawat, for whom Dasavathaaram was her first Tamil language film.^[16] Over the course, of the production more supporting actors were added to the film, the first being Napolean, who was signed up to portray a king in the film. Other veteran actors, Jayaprada, Nagesh, P. Vasu, K. R. Vijaya and M. S. Baskar as well as a bevy of American supporting actors were roped into essay other small roles in the film.^[17] Actors, Jayaram and Vadivelu opted out of the film during the production of the project, citing date problems.^[18]

Filming[link]

Picture of the film set depicting the Vishnu image used in the film

A preliminary schedule took place before the start of the film, which featured no filming, but only the make-up tests, lasting for 25 days in the USA.^[19] The make-up used for Kamal's characters proved to create difficulties. It took nine hours to implement the make-up and it failed to stay for a long period of time. To compensate that, he had to rest and take fluids using a straw and at the same time, refrain from making movement in the facial muscles to make sure that it was not disturbed.^[20] The technology of motion control was employed for the cinematography in the film.^[7] The filming of Dasavathaaram began on August 3, 2006 at Mahabalipuram in Chennai, where the intro song was picturised on a set created by art director Sameer Chandra. The set resembled the Airavatheeswarar temple at Darasuram in Kumbakonam and scenes with Kamal Haasan in an Iyengar get-up, accompanied by over 750 extras, were recorded. Though it was initially planned to be shot in the temple itself, permission could not be obtained as the structure was a heritage site and the shooting was believed to interfere with the activities of the temple. Further plans to use a hundred elephants were shelved after the transport and accommodation for the animals was deemed impossible.^[21] However, in September 2006, Sameer Chanda was sacked from the project due to his tendency to employ only workers from Mumbai and not Tamilians, prompting Haasan and Ravikumar to remove him from the project, with his role being entrusted to Prabhakar of Virumaandi fame.^[22]

Another team member was sacked in Chengelpet, when a stunt sequence was being captured by the camera; stunt master Kanal Kannan was reported to have used unparliamentarily words at the workers and that took over the public address system. Angered and humiliated by such remarks, the workers walked out of the sets refusing to work anymore and resumed duty only after the elimination of Kanal Kannan. A new stunt master, Thyagarajan was given the opportunity to take over following the controversy caused by Kannan, who had a similar problem while shooting for Sivaji.^[23]

Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included the US, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. A role of a foreigner, played by Haasan, was shot for in casinos in and around Las Vegas and Orlando. A song involving Kamal Haasan and Mallika Sherawat that was to be shot in US was moved to Malaysia due to problems with Sherawat's visa. The crew instead decided to shift to another destination in Malaysia and the song was shot in posh night clubs; furthermore scenes were shot at a lobby of a prominent Malaysian airport.^[24]

A Replica of the White House was erected at the Taramani Film City in India, with Haasan’s makeup for the role lasting six whole hours to obtain the desired outcome.^[24] For the climax, another scene was shot dramatically above the Nehru Stadium with the permission of the chief minister, M. Karunanidhi.^[25] A tsunami effect was created in Mahabalipuram and shot at a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m²) area of land in which a 100-foot (30 m) wall was created near Muttukadu. Six machines, which generated 20-foot (6.1 m) high waves, were imported from the US, for a total cost of 3.5 crore (US$698,250).^[24] The film’s final shoot occurred on October 8, 2007 at Uthandi, a coastal village.^[26]

Soundtrack[link]

The film was originally announced with A. R. Rahman as the music director of the film. However he was removed from the project and replaced by Himesh Reshammiya, for whom Dasavathaaram became his Tamil film debut.^[27] The background score was created by Devi Sri Prasad. As the film demanded a "stylish and western" quality of music, two reels of music were initially composed and tested. A two-and-a-half minute theme song was later composed for the promos. The background music in the second half consisted of extensive usage of violins and chorus and the entire score for the film was recorded over a period of one month, in Chennai.^[28]

The soundtrack was released on April 25, 2008 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, which became the largest audio launch for a south Indian film.^[29] Prominent film personalities across the world attended the event, with Jackie Chan, in his first such appearance, being Hollywood's ambassador for the function. Other prominent regional Indian artistes such as Amitabh Bachchan, Mammooty, Vijay and Madhavan attended the launch, which was graced by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi. The event hosted by Shobana, was attended by all the artistes of the film apart from producer Venu Ravichandran, who avoids to attend public events.^[30] The soundtrack album was acquired by Sony BMG, purchasing their first Tamil film, for a record of 2 crore (US$399,000).^[31] The music was released in four languages: Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam.

Release[link]

Distribution of the film worldwide, was sold to various companies with producer Venu Ravichandran distributing the film around South India. Sony India distributed the film in North India, whilst Ayngaran International sold the film to cinema halls in the United Kingdom, Singapore and the Gulf.^[32] Canadian rights for the film were bought by Walt Disney, becoming the first distributional venture of an Indian film by the production house.^[33] Narmadha Travels acquired the rights from Aascar Films to distribute the film in the United States Of America.^[34]

Controversies[link]

Assistant director Senthil Kumar filed a case against the film at the Madras High Court. He claimed to have created the story of Dasavathaaram, in a script titled, Ardhanari alias Clones, and that Kamal Haasan and Venu Ravichandran had "stolen" the script and left him out of the credits, violating the copyright act.^[35] On the basis of this complaint, the Chennai police queried the actor and later accepted his explanation with the high court sending notices to Kamal Haasan and the producer of the film, Venu Ravichandran announcing an interim stay on the release of the film. The film was allowed to continue with its schedules, but the case was delayed till later in 2007. However in September 2007, the Court dismissed the petition of Senthil Kumar against Kamal Haasan in the case, clearing the legal hurdles for the film.^[36]

Following the audio launch on April 25, 2008, Mallika Sherawat received a police complaint against the issue of improper attire at a film function. Hindu Makkal Katchi, a splinter group of the Hindu Munnani, lodged a complaint with the police, saying that Sherawat's attire at the function to release audio-CDs of Dasavathaaram, in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had been present, had "hurt the sentiments of Hindus". The actress was accused of wearing a mini-skirt and exposing her back in front of the chief minister.^[37]

In May 2008, the film was criticized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which claimed that the film has portrayed the clash between Saivism and Vaishnavism which prevailed in the 12th century in the film in an objectionable manner. The organization reported that many statues of Hindu Gods have been shown to be destroyed which will be highly controversial and will hurt the sentiments of Hindus all over the world. While condemning such scenes, VHP leader, Vedantham, had stated that the scenes in question be removed soon, failing which they will be holding agitations in front of the theatres where the film would be screened.^[38] However, following the accusations, Venu Ravichandran announced that the film contains no controversial scenes and added that the film, based around the Hindu religion, will convert atheists to theists.^[39] The charges were cleared on May 29, 2008 insisting that Dasavathaaram did not portray Hindu culture in bad light.^[40]

Screenings[link]

The film's trailer was released publicly on April 23, 2008, a day after it was shown to special guests, which included M. Karunanidhi at a screen.^[41] The first exclusive screening of the film, prior to release, was held on the morning of the audio launch on April 25, 2008, to visiting guests Jackie Chan, Mammooty and Amitabh Bachchan, all of whom were full of praise for the film.^[42]

The film was shown subsequently to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi by the request of the producer on June 8, 2008.^[43] Furthermore, Ravichandran sold the television rights for the film to Karunanidhi's Kalaignar TV for a record, 4.5 crore rupees.^[44] Two days prior to the release, the film was shown to prominent film personalities of Indian cinema at Four Films Cinema in Chennai, with the film receiving praise.^[45]

Box office[link]

Domestic[link]

Upon release, Dasavathaaram was dubbed and released in Telugu on the same date, with later release dates set for the Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Bhojpuri versions. The Indian censor board certified the film on April 24, 2008, giving it a "U" (universal) rating, after 9 cuts were made and letting the film run for 166 minutes.^[46] Dasavathaaram released worldwide with 1,300 prints in all the respective languages. For the Tamil version, Tamil Nadu alone had 275 prints with Kerala and Karnataka accounting for 85 and 80 prints respectively, with 190 prints released overseas. The Hindi version had about 410 prints in North India. Moreover, the Telugu version of Dasavathaaram had as many as 260 prints in Andhra Pradesh.^[31] According to The Times of India, Dasavatharam due to its big budget, just covered its cost and made a very small profit.^[47]

The film grossed 2 crore (US$399,000) in Kerala in the first week.^[48] The film, also released in other parts of India, collected 60 lakh (US$119,700) from outside Tamil Nadu.^[49] In Nizam territory, the film collected a share of more than 3.5 crore (US$698,250) in just 2 weeks of screening. In Seedead, the film collected more than 1.6 crore (US$319,200) in a fortnight. In the Krishna district, the film collected 70 lakh (US$139,700) in 2 weeks and in Guntur it amassed a share of 75 lakh (US$149,600) in a fortnight. In the East and West Godavari district, the film was able to collect 95 lakh (US$189,500) in 2 weeks and in the district of Vizag, it amounted to 1 crore (US$199,500) in a fortnight.^[50] In four weeks, the global collections of the film reached 100 crore (US$19.95 million).^[51]

Overseas[link]

After the opening weekend, Dasavathaaram had collected US$4,632,719, equivalent to approximately 19.7 crore (US$3.93 million) and was placed 7th in the overseas weekend box office for the week ending June 13–15, becoming the first Tamil film to be in the Top 10 at the International Box Office.^[52]

In Malaysia, the film opened in second place, having collected $601,000 from 58 screens on the opening weekend^[53][54] and $1,720,780 in nine weeks.^[55] Dasavathaaram completed a 100-day run on September 20, 2008.^[56] It grossed 10 crore (US$2 million) in Malaysia as lifetime business.

Dasavathaaram was released in USA with 42 prints, an unprecedented record in US movie history for a South Indian film. With print sharing facility, it was screened in 50 cities across the country. The collection on the opening weekend in the USA was $500,000.^[57] The film grossed $750,000 in the USA as lifetime business.^[58]

In the UK box office, it collected £126,747 from 19 screens on its opening weekend, debuting at number 12, the third highest position ever for a Tamil film.^[57][59] By its second weekend, Dasavathaaram grossed £216,000 at the UK box office; it grossed 6 crore (US$1.2 million) in the UK as lifetime business.

In Canada, it was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the first Tamil film do so. Dasavathaaram ultimately grossed around 250 crore (US$49.88 million) worldwide,^[60][61] making it the No. 1 highest grossing Tamil film in their 80-year history. According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $26,356,962 in the first three weeks of release.^[62]

Critical response[link]

Upon release, Dasavathaaram received generally mixed reviews. Behindwoods gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and stated that it was a "make-up magic show that disappoints as drama and satisfies as a technical showpiece".^[63] Rediff praised the film as "spectacular" and a "super human effort", rating it with 4 out of 5 stars. The reviewer claimed that it was "very difficult to single out the best sequence of the film, yet the tsunami episode is perhaps the outstanding presentation mainly because of the top class visuals backed by a superb background effort". The review further praised Kamal Haasan's performances, writing that "it is not necessary to say how great an actor Kamal Haasan is but one thing has to be said; no other actor would have dared to take on these varied roles". Asin was described as having the second best role of her career, only second to Ghajini, whilst K. S. Ravikumar was "complimented for his handling of such a complicated but challenging subject". The reviewer concluded that the film will "go down in the history of Indian cinema as a unique experiment in the commercial circuit". The only negative factor in the film is described as Himesh Reshammiya whose music fail him but praise was addressed to Devi Sri Prasad, the background music composer who was labelled "excellent", as was the camera work by Ravi Varman.^[64]

In comparison, Sify called the film "average", stating that it "fell short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated. Sify wrote that the "trouble with the format is that far too many characters of the actor criss-cross without any reason—or they don’t make any difference to the story. ...characters such as the Punjabi pop singer Avatar Singh, the tall Khalifullah Khan, the Japanese martial arts expert, etc., are unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10". The reviewer also criticized the make-up, lamenting that "Kamal’s prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener" but claimed that Brian Jennings's special effects, "mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are top class by Indian standards". Sify, too, criticized Himesh Reshammiya’s music, writing: "Nothing much to talk about other than Kallai Mattum but Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is superb and makes up for everything". The reviewer praised cinematographer Ravi Varman, noting: "[He] may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb". The actors received praise for their performances, particularly Kamal Hassan, who "pitches in yet another fantastic performance" with special praise for the Balaram Naidu character. Asin was described as "cute as the chirpy Andal, but beyond a point her character irritates you with her frequent Perumale calls", while her dubbing effort was praised as "top class and deserves special mention". Other actors were also appreciated, with Mallika Sherawat in a brief role "sizzles", while M. S. Baskar and Napolean in small roles "shine".^[65]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dasavathaaram at the Internet Movie Database
• Dasavathaaram at Rotten Tomatoes

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan in 2009
Born	Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan (1942-10-11) 11 October 1942 (age 69) Allahabad, United Provinces, British India
Residence	Prateeksha, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor, producer, singer, television presenter
Years active	1969–present
Spouse	Jaya Bhaduri (1973–present)
Children	Abhishek Bachchan Shweta Nanda
Website
bigb.bigadda.com

Amitabh Bachchan ([əmɪtaːbʱ bəttʃən] ( listen), born Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan on 11 October 1942) is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades.^[1][2] Bachchan is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema.^[3][4][5]

Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including three National Film Awards as Best Actor, and fourteen Filmfare Awards. He is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 37 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s. He has received both the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan civilian awards from the Indian government.

Early life[link]

Bachban was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a Hindi poet, and his mother, Teji Bachchan, was a Sikh from Faisalabad (now in Pakistan).^[6] Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab, inspired from the famous phrase Inquilab Zindabad, during the Indian independence struggle. 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." Though his surname was Shrivastava, his father had adopted the pen-name Bachchan (meaning child-like in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all his works. It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films, and, for all public purposes, it has become the surname of all members of his family. Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007.^[7]

Amitabh is the eldest of Harivansh Rai Bachchan's two sons, the second being Ajitabh. His mother had a keen interest in theatre and had been offered a role in a film, but preferred her domestic duties. She had some degree of influence in Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that he should take the centre stage.^[8] He attended Allahabad's Jnana Prabodhini and Boys' High School (BHS), followed by Nainital's Sherwood College, where he majored in the art stream.^{[citation needed]} He later went on to study at Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi and completed a Bachelor of Science degree.^{[citation needed]} In his twenties, Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co., based in Calcutta now known as Kolkata, to pursue a career in acting.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Early work: 1969–1972[link]

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.^[9]

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. He 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. Many of his films during this early period did not do well, but that was about to change.^[10]

Rise to stardom: 1973–1983[link]

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. Filmfare considers this one of the iconic performances of Bollywood history.^[10] The year 1973 was also when 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[11] 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 Deewaar, 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.^[12] Indiatimes Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[13] 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.^[15] 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 Sikandar which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. He was billed a "one-man industry" by the French director François Truffaut.^[16]

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.^[17] 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.^[18]

[edit] 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.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

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.^[20]

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 and stated before every release, "Yeh film to flop hogi!" ("This film will flop").^[22]

Politics: 1984–87[link]

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 one of the highest victory margins in general election history (68.2% of the vote).^[23] 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.^[24]

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.^[25] 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.^[26]

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.^[27]

Slump and retirement: 1988–1992[link]

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.^[28] 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.^[29]

Producer and acting comeback 1996–99[link]

Bachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (A.B.C.L.) in 1996, with the vision of becoming a 10 billion rupees (approx 250 million $US) premier entertainment company by the year 2000. ABCL's strategy was to introduce products and services covering the entire section of the India's entertainment industry. Its operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, celebrity and event management. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film was produced by the company. Tere Mere Sapne failed to do well at the box office but launched the careers of actors such as Arshad Warsi and South films star Simran. ABCL produced a few other films, none of which did well.

In 1997, Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film Mrityudata, produced by ABCL. Though Mrityudaata attempted to reprise Bachchan's earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically. ABCL was the main sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant, Bangalore but lost millions. The fiasco and the consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997. The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by Indian Industries board. The Bombay high court, in April 1999, restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats till the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of. Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to Sahara India Finance for raising funds for his company.^[30]

Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998),^[29] and received positive reviews for Sooryavansham (1999)^[31] but other films such as Lal Baadshah (1999) and Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999) were box office failures.

Return to prominence: 2000–present[link]

Bachchan at the IIFA Awards in 2006

In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-office hit, Mohabbatein, directed by Aditya Chopra. He played a stern, older figure that rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan. His role won him his third Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Other hits followed, with Bachchan appearing as an older family patriarch in Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003). As an actor, he continued to perform in a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his performances in Aks (2001), Aankhen (2002), Khakee (2004) and Dev (2004). One project that did particularly well for Bachchan was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black (2005). The film starred Bachchan as an aging teacher of a deaf-blind girl and followed their relationship. His performance was unanimously praised by critics and audiences and won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor and fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award. Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began endorsing a variety of products and services, appearing in many television and billboard advertisements. In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit films Bunty Aur Babli (2005), the Godfather tribute Sarkar (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006). All of them were successful at the box office.^[32][33] His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were Baabul (2006),^[34] Ekalavya and Nishabd (2007), which failed to do well at the box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics.^[35]

In May 2007, two of his films Cheeni Kum and the multi-starrer Shootout at Lokhandwala were released. Shootout at Lokhandwala did very well at the box office and was declared a hit in India, while Cheeni Kum picked up after a slow start and only had average success.^[36] A remake of his biggest hit, Sholay (1975), entitled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, released in August of that same year and proved to be a major commercial failure in addition to its poor critical reception.^[36] The year also marked Bachchan's first appearance in an English-language film, Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear. The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2007. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best ever since Black.^[37] Bachchan was slated to play a supporting role in his first international film, Shantaram, directed by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the lead. The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the writer's strike, was pushed to September 2008.^[38] The film is currently "shelved" indefinitely.^[39] Vivek Sharma's Bhoothnath, in which he plays the title role as a ghost, was released on 9 May 2008. Sarkar Raj, the sequel of the 2005 film Sarkar, released in June 2008 and received a positive response at the box-office. Paa, which released at the end of 2009 was a highly anticipated project as it saw him playing his own son Abhishek's Progeria-affected 13-year-old son, and it opened to favourable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance. It won him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through Kandahar, directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal.^[40] The film was based on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814.^[41] Bachchan did not receive any remuneration for this film.^[42]

Television career[link]

In the year 2000, Bachchan stepped up to host India's adaptation of the British television game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? entitled, Kaun Banega Crorepati. As it did in most other countries where it was adopted, the program found immediate success. He has hosted all but one of the seasons of the show. Canara Bank withdrew its law suit against Bachchan in November 2000. Bachchan hosted KBC till November 2005, when he fell ill. At that time he was admitted to Lilavati Hospital's ICU once more, to undergo surgery for diverticulitis of the small intestine.^[43] During the period and that following his recovery, most of his projects were put on hold, including KBC.^[44] He has hosted all but one season of the show. Its success set the stage for his return to film popularity. In 2009 Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire in the first question of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? contest "Amitabh Bachchan" was the correct answer to the question "Who was the star of Zanjeer? Feroz Abbas Khan performed as Amitabh Bachchan in a scene in the movie while Anil Kapoor performed as the host of the contest. Bachchan hosted the third season of the reality show Bigg Boss in 2009.^[45]

Voice[link]

Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a narrator, a playback singer and presenter for numerous programmes.^{[citation needed]} Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Bachchan's voice, that he decided to use his voice as commentary in Shatranj Ke Khilari since he could not find a suitable role for him.^[46] In 2005, Bachchan has lent his voice to the Oscar-winning French documentary March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet.^[47]

Controversies and criticism[link]

Barabanki land case[link]

In the runup to the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, 2007, Bachchan made a film extolling the virtues of the Mulayam Singh government. His Samajwadi Party was routed, and Mayawati came to power.^{[citation needed]}

On 2 June 2007 a Faizabad court ruled that he had legally acquired agricultural land designated specifically for landless Dalit farmers.^[48] It was speculated that he might be investigated on related charges of forgery, as he has allegedly claimed he was a farmer.^[49] On 19 July 2007, after the scandal broke out, Bachchan surrendered the land acquired in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh and Pune. He wrote to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, to donate the lands that were allegedly acquired illegally in Pune.^[50] However, the Lucknow Court has put a stay on the land donation and said that the status quo on the land be maintained.

On 12 October 2007, Bachchan abandoned his claim in respect of the land at Daulatpur village in Barabanki district.^[51] On 11 December 2007, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court gave a clean chit to Bachchan in a case pertaining to alleged fraudulent allotment of government land to him in Barabanki district. A single Lucknow bench of Justice said there was no finding that the actor "himself committed any fraud or manipulated any surreptitious entry in the revenue records".^[52][53]

After receiving a positive verdict in Barabanki case, Amitabh Bachchan intimated to Maharashtra government that he did not wish to surrender his land in Maval tehsil of Pune district.^[54]

Raj Thackeray's criticism[link]

Bachchan featured on an advert in shopping mall in India

In January 2008 at political rallies, Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, targeted Amitabh Bachchan, asserting that the actor was "more inclined" towards his native state than Maharashtra. He expressed his disapproval of Amitabh's inaugurating a girls' school named after his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in Maharashtra.^[55] According to media reports, Raj's censure of Amitabh, whom he admires, stemmed out of his disappointment of not being invited to Amitabh's son Abhishek's marriage to Aishwarya, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.^[56][57]

Responding to Raj's accusations, the actor's wife, SP MP Jaya Bachchan, said that the Bachchans were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai—Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here."^[58] Raj responded to it saying, "Jaya bachchan claims she does not know me then how come she knows how much property I own?". Amitabh abstained from commenting on the issue. However, he apologized to Raj for controversial remarks from Jaya in some other incidence. "^[59]

Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, stating, "Amitabh Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and affection. He has also said that what he is today is because of the love people have given him.^{[citation needed]} The people of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an artiste.^{[citation needed]} It was utter foolishness to make these parochial allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar. People all over the world respect him. This cannot be forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly accusations and concentrate on his acting."^[60]

On 23 March 2008, more than a month and half after Raj's remarks, Amitabh finally spoke out in an interview to a local tabloid saying, "Random charges are random; they do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give."^[61] Later, on 28 March at a press conference for the International Indian Film Academy, when asked what his take was on the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is one's fundamental right to live anywhere in the country and the constitution entitles so.^[62] He also stated that he was not affected by Raj's comments.^[63]

Awards, honours and recognitions[link]

Apart from National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards and other competitive awards which Bachchan won for his performances throughout the years, he has been awarded several honours for his achievements in the Indian film industry.^{[citation needed]} In 1991, he became the first artist to receive the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established in the name of Raj Kapoor. Bachchan was crowned as Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Filmfare Awards. The Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in 1984^[64] and the Padma Bhushan in 2001.^[65] France's highest civilian honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour, was conferred upon him by the French Government in 2007 for his "exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond".^[66] In 2011, actor Dilip Kumar blogged that Black should have been nominated for an Oscar. Kumar added: "If any Indian actor, in my personal opinion, deserves the world's most coveted award, it is you."^[67]

In 1999, Bachchan was voted the "greatest star of stage or screen" in a BBC Your Millenium online poll. The organisation noted that "Many people in the western world will not have heard of [him] ...[but it] is a reflection of the huge popularity of Indian films."^[68] In 2001, he was honoured with the Actor of the Century award at the Alexandria International Film Festival in Egypt in recognition of his contribution to the world of cinema.^[69] Many other honours for his achievements were conferred upon him at several International Film Festivals, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Asian Film Awards.^[70]

In June 2000, he became the first living Asian to have been immortalised in wax at London's Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.^[71] Another statue was installed in New York ^[72] and Hong Kong in 2009.^[73]

In 2003, he was conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of the French town of Deauville.^[74] He was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Jhansi, India, in 2004,^[75] the University of Delhi in 2006,^[76] the De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, in 2006,^[77] the University Brandan Foster by the Leeds Metropolitan University in Yorkshire, UK, in 2007,^[78] and the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, in 2011.^[79]

Severals books have been written about Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan: the Legend was published in 1999,^[80] To be or not to be: Amitabh Bachchan in 2004,^[81] AB: The Legend: (A Photographer's Tribute) in 2006 ^[82]/, Amitabh Bachchan: Ek Jeevit Kimvadanti in 2006,^[83] Amitabh: The Making of a Superstar in 2006,^[84] Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me in 2007 ^[85] and Bachchanalia in 2009.^[86] Bachchan himself also wrote a book in 2002: Soul Curry for you and me – An Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life.^[87] In the early 80s, Bachchan authorized the use of his likeness for the comic book character Supremo in a series titled The Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan.^[88]

Personal life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2012)

Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri. They have two children, Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan. Abhishek is also an actor and is married to actress Aishwarya Rai.

Filmography[link]

Latest films[link]

Producer[link]

Playback singer[link]

Further reading[link]

• Mazumdar, Ranjani. Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

References[link]

External links[link]

	Bollywood portal
	Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amitabh Bachchan

• Amitabh Bachchan's official blog
• Amitabh Bachchan at the Internet Movie Database
• Amitabh Bachchan Documentary, Classic BBC Archive video and exclusive interview conducted in Amitabh's own house for BBC Asian Network^{[dead link]}
• British Academy of Film and Television Arts brochure