It was an evocative moment. Goa had been liberated by the Indian Armed forces
and the defeated Portugese were in the process of returning some POWs. This
particular dark lanky tall jawan had been tortured for days and his feet were cut
and bleeding. He was thrown on the ground and told contemptuously “Hindustani
kutte reng ke jao” (crawl back to your land you dog !). The soldier staggerd
to his feet and despite being in obvious pain walks back to his mates waiting for
him. It was the first appearance of the actor we know as Amitabh Bachchan.
The movie was Saat Hindustani and the year was 1969.
He came from an illustrious family. His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan and his Madhushala
were acclaimed. His mother Teji Bachchan (a sikh) was acknowledged as a great
lady. He studied in Sherwood College, Nainital and Kirori Mal College, Delhi.
He worked for Shaw Wallace in Calcutta for a while and then dropped everything to
try his hand in films. On a bad day he even worked as an extra in the film
‘Bombay Talkies’. He played a pallbearer there. A friend of his family
spotted him doing that scene and ticked him off roundly for letting down his fathers
name. He was not exactly young when he made an appearance in the film world.
He was in his late twenties, when all the proper Indian boys are ready to start
a family and already entrenched in some lucrative career. But persistence
was the key to Bachchan’s success. After working in several movies as a narrator.
He worked in a good number of movies that flopped or were moderate hits, especially
when he wasn’t in the lead.
It was the time of the choclatey hero, a guy who could romance his heroine to death.
For instance, Rajesh Khanna, with his sensous lips and head flick. But then
along came Salim Javed with their script for Zanzeer and the face of Indian Cinema changed for ever. The year was 1973 and Amitabh was 31. But that was his time
and he was in the right place. He lit up the marquee with his unique deadpan
face, his great height, his locks, his bellbottoms, his redrimmed eyes, his angst.
On one occasion with little bulbs to light up his white suit while he danced.
This went on through the 70s and the 80s.
It was the nineties when the good times ended, his age was showing, his face got
pasty, his middle spread and his movies started flopping. He launched his
own company ABCL which sustained heavy losses and he went into bankrupt mode.
After a long time on the failure boat, Mohabattein happened and he was able to bounce
back somewhat. It was Kaun Banega Karorepati in 2000 that turned his fortunes.
Suddenly the baritone and the clear diction found new uses. He assumed the
looks of a benign patriarch and created a new slot in Indian Cinema. The Older
Hero. Riding on a newfound demand, he shone in movies like Baghban, Black,
Aankhen. These movies ruled the box office the comeback dude was on a roll
again.
As far as we know, he is likely to remain there forever. A living legend.