Amitabh Bachchan filmography

Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television host and former politician who primarily works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in 1969 with the film Saat Hindustani for which he won his 1st National Award for Best Newcomer ^[1] and also narrated Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome, that same year.^[2] He later appeared as Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand (1971), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.^[2] In 1973, Bachchan played his breakthrough role of Inspector Vijay Khanna in Prakash Mehra's action film Zanjeer. He has since appeared in many films playing characters with the name "Vijay".^[3] That same year, he appeared in Abhimaan and Namak Haraam. For the latter, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He starred along with Shashi Kapoor in Yash Chopra's Deewaar, in 1975, which earned him widespread critical acclaim and popularity and also earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination. He was cited as the "angry young man" for his roles in Zanjeer and Deewaar.^[4] That same year, he also starred in Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, which is considered to be one of the greatest Indian films of all time.^[5][6] After appearing in the romantic drama Kabhie Kabhie (1976), Bachchan starred in Manmohan Desai's highest grosser action-comedy Amar Akbar Anthony (1977). He again won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the latter. He then played dual roles of Don and Vijay in Don (1978), which again earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the second consecutive year. All three films were huge blockbusters.

Bachchan's stardom continued to roar in the early 1980s and his critically and commercially successful films from this period include Dostana (1980), Shaan (1980), Ram Balram (1980), Naseeb (1981), Lawaaris (1981), Kaalia (1981), Yaarana (1981), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Shakti (1982), Namak Halaal (1982), Khud-Daar (1982), Andha Kanoon (1983) and Coolie (1983). His performances in films like Dostana and Shakti earned him many nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. He suffered a near-fatal injury while shooting for Coolie.^[7] His workload decreased for the upcoming four years (1984–1988), but he found great commercial and critical success with the films Sharaabi (1984), Geraftaar (1985) and Mard (1985). In 1988, he returned to the screen with the box-office success Shahenshah.^[8][9] Two years later in 1990, Bachchan played the role of gangster Vijay Deenanath Chauhan in Mukul S. Anand's Agneepath, which earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor and later starred in Hum (1991), which was a commercial success. Despite being a box-office failure, the former garnered him the National Film Award for Best Actor and has since developed a cult status.^[10][11][12] He also won a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Hum, following which he took another break from acting.^[8] He then played the role of Badshah Khan in Anand's 1992 drama Khuda Gawah, for which he received a civilian award from the President of Afghanistan. Khuda Gawah, was also a critical and commercial success and Bachchan's performance was well received both domestically and internationally.^[13] In 1996, he started his film production company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation whose first film Tere Mere Sapne (1996) was a box-office hit.^[14] Bachchan is also known as the "Shahenshah" or "Big B" of Bollywood.^[15]

In 2000, Bachchan appeared in a widely acclaimed supporting role in Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein, for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, he made his television debut as the host of the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati.^[16] He has since hosted its every season, except for season 3. He then played the roles of a short-tempered banker in Aankhen (2002), a disillusioned father in Baghban (2003), and a conflicted cop in Khakee (2004).^[17] In 2005, he played the role of a teacher of a blind and deaf girl in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, for which he received the National Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.^[18][19] He received another National Award for Best Actor for playing a progeria patient in R. Balki's Paa (2009). He also portrayed the title character of a friendly ghost in Bhoothnath (2008) and its sequel Bhoothnath Returns (2014) and also played a hypochondriac in the comedy-drama Piku (2015).^[20] It earned him his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor.

Bachchan has also narrated many films including Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), Lagaan (2001), Parineeta (2005), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Ra.One (2011) and Krrish 3 (2013). He has also been a playback singer in many films like Laawaris, Silsila and Baghban. In 2024, Amazon Prime Video released a three-part documentary series about the Salim–Javed screenwriting duo titled Angry Young Men. The series explores their creative partnership, their influence on the evolution of Indian cinema, and the role that Bachchan played in personifying the "angry young man" of their films.^[21]