Amitabh Bachchan
Director
Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film
Zanjeer (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the "angry young man" of
Bollywood cinema,.
2 He earned a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. 1973 was also the year he married Jaya and around this time they appeared in several films together, not only in
Zanjeer but in films such as
Abhimaan which followed and was released only a month after their marriage. Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram in the film
Namak Haraam, a social drama directed by
Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role won him his second
Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.
In 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as
Kunwara Baap and
Dost, before playing a supporting role in
Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. The film, directed and written by
Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship. Bachchan then played the leading role in film
Majboor, released on 6 December 1974, which was a remake of the
Hollywood film
Zigzag. The film was only a moderate success at the box office.
In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy
Chupke Chupke, the crime drama
Faraar to the romantic drama
Mili. 1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the
Yash Chopra directed film
Deewar, opposite
Shashi Kapoor,
Nirupa Roy, and
Neetu Singh, which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4.
[9] Indiatimes Movies ranks
Deewaar amongst the
Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.
[10] Released on 15 August 1975 was
Sholay (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning
INR 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for
inflation.
[11] Bachchan played the role of Jaidev. In 1999,
BBC India declared it the "Film of the Millennium" and like
Deewar, has been cited by
Indiatimes movies as amongst the
Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.
[10] In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual
Filmfare awards awarded it with the special distinction award called
Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.
Bachchan starred in comedies such as
Chupke Chupke (1975) and
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and in films such as
Kabhie Kabhie (1976). In 1976, he was once again cast by director
Yash Chopra in his second film,
Kabhi Kabhie, a romantic tale in which Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja played by actress
Rakhee Gulzar. The film saw him again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 1977, he won his first
Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in
Amar Akbar Anthony where he played the third lead opposite
Vinod Khanna and
Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves. In 1978 he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year.
He once again resumed double roles in films such as
Kasme Vaade as Amit and Shankar and
Don playing the characters of Don, a leader of an underworld gang and his look alike Vijay. His performance won him his second
Filmfare Best Actor Award. He also performed in
Trishul and
Muqaddar Ka Sikander which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. He was billed a "one-man industry" by the French director
François Truffaut.
