By Suneel V. Gaur and Rajesh V. Gaur
Amitabh Bachchan may be growing old but he has shown no signs of slowing down and has indeed been the perfect example of aging gracefully. Amitabh Bachchan, who turns 71 on October 11, once said, “Everyone must accept that we will age and age is not always flattering”. Though he mouthed the words himself, his very success contradicts the notion.
In an era starkly different from his time, the seventies and eighties Bachchan still holds a firm place in the industry and commands a sense of power and respect that is unmatched till date. On the personal front he has been a great son, a loving husband, an inspirational father and a doting grandfather.
Amitabh Bachchan, despite his unconventional looks, managed to make a mark and stand out in the glamour world of Bollywood, on the basis of his immense talent and the need he fulfilled in the changing society of his times.
It was in 1973 that Prakash Mehra, after being rejected by the top actors of that time like Dev Anand, Raaj Kumar, etc. went to Amitabh Bachchan and offered him the role of Inspector Vijay for the film Zanjeer. This revenge saga came like a blast of fresh air in the midst of the popular romantic films and established Amitabh as the ‘Angry Young Man’.
It has been 40 years since the film released and Amitabh has not looked back since then and is still a force to reckon with. In the ensuing period he gave film lovers great hits like Don, Trishul, Sholay, Majboor, Mr. Natwarlal, Naseeb, Coolie, Don, The Great Gambler, etc. Though some of his films may not have done well, Amitabh has never failed as an actor.
With Kabhie Kushi Kabhie Gam Amitabh was freed from the shackles of playing the lead actor. He took on different shades of characters in movies like Paheli, Viruddh, Nishabd, but it was Sanjay Leela Bhansali who gave him a complex character in Black. The nuances of the character were brought out well by Amitabh that it turned out to be an award winning performance. He was also appreciated in films like Cheeni Kum (2007) and Paa (2009). Recently he regaled his fans with superlative performances in Buddha Hoga Tera Baap, and Satyagrah despite the films having mundane scripts. The hallmark of this actor lies in his consistency of churning out one great performance after another.
Reams and Reams can be written about Amitabh but it would still not do justice to the man’s talent and humility.