I don’t think there’s a real need — in this decade — to write an article about one of the greatest actors of Bollywood. There’re millions of beautiful articles about Amitabh Bachchan; full of fancy words and praises or otherwise. In my blog post, I’m trying to decode this man from my perspective.
I’ve always been his fan since I was a child. I remember me and my elder brother wearing the same dress the superstar wore in his film Don. In fact, not only us, many children did the same. The film was a cult and superstar created a rage through his style.
Amitabh has seen it all — from career rags to riches, from super-flops to mega-hits. He started small and after much struggle, he made it big after his famous role of an angry young man in Zanjeer.
I remember reading an article that he was turned away by All India Radio and some filmmakers as they thought he wouldn’t work in the industry. but Amitabh turned the tables and in no time became a star of the millennium.
I admire him not because he has many mega-hits films to his credit but because he has a huge variety in his roles. Every role is unique and full of life.
I’ve seen some of his films more than 100 times. These include Agneepath, Deewar, and Sholay. Every film has a deep impact on me, every film has made me traveled in fantasy and every film has brought out the best in me.
But this isn’t what makes him really great for me. There’re more reasons.
He’d made a huge empire but in the late 1990s, he’d lost almost everything he created. His films weren’t doing good, his company ABCL saw huge losses, his close associates looted him and faced much criticism from his fans.
He got his name involved in the famous Bofors scandal and the same people who line-up near his home every day, to just see him once, threw stones at him. Luckily, his good deeds saved him and the court gave him a clean chit.
When nothing worked, and he had huge debts, Amitabh was shattered but he didn’t give up, he didn’t break. He went to his close friend Yash Chopra to almost beg for a role. This is what excites me the most.
A man of such great success and social respect, asking for work from his friend. Believe me, it takes a lot of courage to ask and understand the art of receiving. And then he did a film which was a mega-hit and then began a new chapter of success in his life and Indian internment industry.
For me, Amitabh isn’t just a name; it’s a phenomenon.
He’s an inspiration to many. He’s a classic tale of a roller coaster life. His life is a perfect example of a masala Hindi film that has all the emotions available in the universe. He has a cute little-united family and his grandson and I share the same name — Agastya.
I remember one nice incident from childhood. In those times, we could send letters to our favorite film stars through a film magazine. I sent him a birthday card on 11th October and was lucky to get a letter in response.
Such is the modesty of this great superstar. Not many did this when I was a child; at least I never got any response from others.
My mother also was a great fan of him and it was one of her last three wishes — to meet him before dying. And I made it possible for her before she left us in 2015. Meeting him once before dying is also on my wish-list.
I think that Amitabh isn’t considered as a star of the millennium because of his mega-hit films or his billions of fans across globe but what I feel is that he has gone a step beyond. He’s become someone whom people want to meet once before dying. I think this is his biggest virtue, achievement and magic.
On the philanthropy side, he’s known to keep his charitable donations a secret. He runs Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan Trust that does a lot of service in the field of solar electrification, girl child education and woman empowerment.
In a nutshell, he’s one of those rare humans — युगपुरुष — who comes once in a way and who has a rich heart full of love, faith, and good values.
