Amitabh Bachchan was born in 11 October 1942, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, in north central India. His ancestors on his father’s side hailed from a village called Babupatti, in the Raniganj tehsil, in the Pratapgarh district, in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh, in India.
His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a well-knownAwadhi dialect-Hindi poet and a Hindu, while his mother, Teji Bachchan, was Sikh.
Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab, inspired by the phrase Inquilab Zindabad popularly used during the Indian independence struggle. In English, Inquilab Zindabad means “Long live the revolution.”
However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed the boy’s name to Amitabh, means “the light that will never die.”
Although his surname was Shrivastava, Amitabh’s father had adopted the pen name Bachchan (“child-like” in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all of his works.
It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films and for all other practical purposes, Bachchan has become the surname for all of his immediate family.
Amitabh is an a very good writer having inherited the writing genes of Harvanshrai Bachchan his father who was a literary giant in Hindi literature.
Soul Curry for you and me – An Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life is book written by Amitabh Bachchan , editorial input by R.D. Tailang . It describes philosophy of life from amitabh’s eyes.
Bachchan is an alumnus of Sherwood College, Nainital. He later attended Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. He has a younger brother, Ajitabh.
His mother had a keen interest in theatre and was offered a feature film role, but she preferred her domestic duties. Teji had some influence in Amitabh Bachchan’s choice of career because she always insisted that he should “take the centre stage.”
Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri. The couple have two children, Shweta Bachchan (later after marriage, known as Shweta Nanda wife of businessman Nikhil Nanda) and Abhishek Bachchan (actor and husband of actress Aishwarya Rai). A grand daughter named as Aradhya.
Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen’s National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome. His first acting role was as one of the seven protagonists in the film Saat Hindustani, directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Anwar Ali.
Bachchan has won numerous accolades in his career, including four National Film Awards as Best Actor and many awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies.
He has won fifteen Filmfare Awards and is the most nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 41 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter.
He has hosted several seasons of the game show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, India’s version of the game show franchise, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s.
The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts.
The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond.
