Abhimaan

Remembered most for its songs, ‘Abhimaan’ saw a riveting performance from Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Maverick director Hrishikesh Mukherjee weaved a complex story of ego tussle between a singer couple. Amitabh Bachchan portrayed his role with sheer perfection.

Chupke Chupke

Being cast in a comic role, Amitabh Bachchan excelled immensely with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s family entertainer ‘Chupke Chupke’. With the film, Amitabh Bachchan broke the ‘angry young man’ stereotype image developed around him. The actor proved that he can ‘kick’ as well as ‘tickle’.

Sholay

The film remains a milestone till date. This Ramesh Sippy epic had every ingredient of a super blockbuster, but it was the remarkable chemistry of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra which stood out among others. Amitabh Bachchan’s starrer ‘Sholay’ ranks at the top of the British Film Institute`s poll of ‘Top 10 Indian Films’ of all time.

Deewar

The film saw the rise of ‘angry young man’ yet again. Troubled emotions and the inner turmoil of the character were incredibly portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Deewar’. The film received the Filmfare Best Movie Award of 1975 in addition to six other Filmfare Awards and was a super hit at the Box Office. Amitabh Bachchan’s performance stood out completely with the film winning multiple awards and Big B being nominated for the Best Actor category at the India’s equivalent to Oscars, the Filmfare Awards.

Don

No other actor in the history of Hindi cinema personified Don on screen better than a man called Amitabh Bachchan. The film gained cult film status in India and its success later inspired the Don film franchise.

Sharabi

Joining hands with Prakash Mehra again, Amitabh Bachchan gave a stellar performance in ‘Sharabi’. The actor played the role of a drunkard with such finesse that everyone from critics to the audience went gaga over the star.

Agneepath

Another path-breaking film of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan created history with Yash Johar’s ‘Agneepath’. When released, ‘Agneepath’ was a failure; however, the National Award for the Best Actor being bestowed on Amitabh Bachchan changed the perspective among the audience and the critics alike. Favourable reviews trickled in later to make it a cult classic.

Baghban

Amitabh Bachchan’s endearing role of a romantic husband in his 60’s worked wonders and the film showcased the versatile talent of Big B even at the dawn of his career. Amitabh and his co-star Hema Malini did a brilliant job of presenting a lovely relationship of an aging couple in ‘Baghban’. The film won rave reviews not just from the elderly, but even the youngsters.

Black

Amitabh Bachchan had already proved that age was just a number for him, and that, if he is offered a right script and the right role, he could go beyond expectations. That’s exactly what happened when Sanjay Leela Bhansali cast him in ‘Black’ and Big B shone like never before. Portraying an incredibly complex character in the film with panache, Amitabh Bachchan received Best Actor award at the 53rd National Film Awards.

Sarkar

The character which bore strong resemblance with the legendary filmmaker Francis Coppola’s ‘Godfather’, Amitabh Bachchan pulled a stunner out of Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Sarkar’. Amitabh Bachchan in the title role alongside his real-life son, Abhishek Bachchan looked convincing in the role of a kingmaker in this political crime thriller.

Paa

One of Amitabh Bachchan’s another path breaking film, ‘Paa’ saw Big B play son to his real life son! The film was based on a rare genetic condition known as Progeria and placed emphasis on a father-son relationship. This was one of the most challenging roles of Big B’s career and he was simply superb while emoting feelings of a child who is suffering from a genetic disorder. Amitabh Bachchan received his third National Film Award for Best Actor for this film.

By Bikas Bhagat