Referred to as the 'Shahenshah of Bollywood', Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most dominant actors in the Indian movies during the 1970s-1980s. On his success, the French director Francois Truffaut called him a 'one-man industry'. Apart from Indian, beyond the Indian subcontinent, he also has a large overseas fan following. In a career span of five-decade, Amitabh has appeared in over 200 Indian films. Bachchan is regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema and on his 78th birthday, let's have a look at the chronicle incidents of his life that made him Shahenshah of Bollywood.

An initial career in the film industry-

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, Madhu and Jalal Agha.

From being called the failed newcomer to reach to the heights of Stardom -

Amitabh Bachchan was tagged as a 'failed newcomer' by the age of 30, with his twelve flops and only two hits (as a lead in Bombay to Goa and supporting role in Anand). But soon, Bachchan was discovered by screenwriter duo Salim Khan Javed Akhtar. Salim Khan wrote the story, screenplay and script of Zanjeer (1973), and conceived the "angry young man" persona of the lead role. He even earned his first Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor. After this, he gave blockbusters films such as Deewaar (1975) and Sholay (1975). Salim Khan also introduced Bachchan to director Manmohan Desai with whom he formed a long and successful association, alongside Prakash Mehra and Yash Chopra.

Bachchan's glorious superstardom -

Ahead of 1975, Amitabh Bachchan starred in a variety of film genres, from the comedy 'Chupke Chupke' and the crime drama 'Faraar' to the romantic drama 'Mili', 'Deewaar' (1975), Sholay (1975), Kabhie Kabhie (1976), 'Don' (1978), Dostana (1980), Shaan (1980), Ram Balram (1980), Naseeb (1981), Lawaaris (1981), Kaalia (1981), Yaarana (1981), Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981) and Shakti (1982) and many more.

An injury that changes Bachchan's life -

On 26 July 1982, while filming Manmohan Desai's 'Coolie', in the University Campus in Bangalore, Bachchan suffered a near-fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. After this, he required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in hospital for many months, at times close to death. Nevertheless, he resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, the film was a box office success and the top-grossing film of that year.

Political journey -

In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of a long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool.

Back to the base -

After a three-year stint in politics from 1984 to 1987, Bachchan returned to films in 1988, playing the title role in Shahenshah, which was a box office success. After the success of his comeback film, however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films like Jaadugar, Toofan and Main Azaad Hoon (all released in 1989) failed at the box office. He gained success during this period with the crime drama Aaj Ka Arjun (1990) and action crime drama Hum (1991).

Bachchan's failed dream -

Bachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (ABCL) in 1996. ABCL's strategy was to introduce products and services covering an entire cross-section of India's entertainment industry. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film it produced was Tere Mere Sapne. ABCL was the main sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant, Bangalore, but lost millions. Later declared a failed company by the Indian Industries board. and in April 1999, the Bombay High court restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats till the pending loan recovery cases. Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to raise funds for his company.

Bachchan 'back with a bang' -

In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-office hit, Mohabbatein, directed by Aditya Chopra. For his role, he earned his third Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Later on, he worked in several films including Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Baghban (2003), Aks (2001), Aankhen (2002), Kaante (2002), Khakee (2004) and Dev (2004), Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black (2005), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), the Godfather tribute Sarkar (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and many more.

Awards & recognition -

The Government of India honored Amitabh Bachchan 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 honored him with its highest civilian honor, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond. Bachchan also made an appearance in a Hollywood film, Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' (2013), in which he played a non-Indian Jewish character, Meyer Wolfsheim.