The Ten Most Powerful Performances of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan
- In LifeStyle & Sports
- 09:08 PM, Oct 10, 2018
- Shwetank Bhushan
To celebrate the 76th birthday, we look back at 10 Most Powerful Performances from the Bollywood’s Shahenshah’s career over the years. I hope this will entice you to watch (most likely re-watch) these films if you have, by mistake, never seen them before.
These TEN FILMS and his performances are enough to stamp why Amitabh Bachchan is undoubtedly the greatest actor, the biggest star of the Indian film industry ever since the first moving picture was made. The list is chronological in order of their release as each of the performances are better than the other.
ZANZEER (1973)
Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer in which Amitabh Bachchan starred as a brooding cop Vijay Khanna, a Salim-Javed creation, whose dialogues burst upon the scenes like Diwali firecrackers. The intense character of Vijay who doesn’t even smile and Sher Khan (Pran) had to break into a song “Yaari Hai” just to make him smile. Zanjeer fixed Amitabh Bachchan’s image as a volcanic and cynical angry young man in the minds of the Indian audiences.
It not only introduced a new Star to Hindi Cinema (displacing the reigning king Rajesh Khanna) but also brought with it a new phenomenon called the Angry Young Man. Zanjeer would become a foundation stone film for Mr. Bachchan.
DEEWAR (1975)
Few movies remain with you, no matter if you saw those 43 years ago. The epic story of two brothers, from start to end, is unrelentingly tense, tight, somber and serious, Deewar is one such movie filled with the stuff of legends, with its dialogues and performances soaking into the popular consciousness and becoming an irreplaceable part of people’s lives.
Vijay struggles as a dockworker and eventually becomes a leading figure of the underworld, while his younger brother, Ravi, is an educated, upright policeman. Shashi Kapoor as Cop Ravi had the audience’s sympathy as the ideal son, Bachchan as underworld don Vijay was the one the audience rooted for. It set a new trend that blurred the lines between hero and anti-hero.
Deewar is possibly the finest script, screenplay, and dialogs ever written by Salim-Javed. Backed by Yash Chopra’s direction and the absolutely amazing, scorching and explosive acting, commanding dialogues and casual arrogance of Amitabh Bachchan; possibly his finest performance till date.
DON – 1978
Chandra Barot-directed 1978 action film “Don” is the CULT movie of its era that firmly established Amitabh Bachchan in the Super-duper star orbit. This film is so typically Bollywood, yet manages to succeed in maintaining the fast, super tight, twisty roller coaster of an action thriller better than most.
Don, a wanted criminal, dies in a police chase. DSP D’Silva is the only one who knows about his death and to get hold of the gang he trains Don-lookalike Vijay. But Vijay faces danger from the police and from within the gang.
The film revolves around Amitabh Bachchan’s personality, his handsomeness, swagger, and mesmerizing performance both as an amoral don as well as the witty, innocent UPite. Mr. Bachchan in this movie is the showstopper that highlights the legend’s talent and star power.
KAALA PATTHAR (1979)
The film was inspired by the Chasnala mining disaster in Dhanbad in which hundreds of miner were killed in an underground flood. The script is extraordinarily strong, the screenplay and direction are fantastic.
The film centers around Vijay (Amitabh) an angry, self-loathing ex-naval officer who is court-martialed and dismissed in disgrace and humiliation. Vijay looking for a dark place to escape from self for an act of cowardice several years ago, now works as a coal miner where he welcomes every danger, every threatening rumble of disaster as a chance to pay for his past. Mr. Bachchan comes out with a subdued, yet powerhouse of a performance.
Mangal (Shatrughan Sinha), an escaped convict who is also looking for a place to hide but unlike Vijay, from the eyes of the law. The small but explosive encounters between Vijay and Mangal are well portrayed, and very stylish.
SILSILA (1981)
“A film that was trashed by media as ‘silly sila,’ today referred to as a classic (sic)” Mr. Bachchan recalls in one of his tweets.
Naturally. Silsila was released at the time rumor mills were buzzing about the legendary romance between Mr. Bachchan and Rekha, while he was married to Jaya. Reams of newsprint have been spent on how Yash Chopra managed a clever casting coup with the Amitabh, Jaya and Rekha trinity. It was the last film featuring Amitabh and Rekha.
Silsila a cult romantic classic over time is one of Hindi cinema based on adultery, some would say, or based on unadulterated love, romance, and passion, I would call. The most romantic melodies in this film picturized on Rekha and Amitabh and their eye-catching on-screen chemistry could burn the screen just being together.
“He gave her class and she gave him sex appeal,” writes Dinesh Rahjaja and Jitendar Kothari in their book, 100 luminaries of Hindi Cinema. Silsila is the living embodiment of that thought. Never had Rekha looked more alluring and Amitabh more dapper.
SHAKTI (1982)
Ramesh Sippy roped in two powerhouse performers to helm the ideological conflict between a father-son tale. When Shakti came out, there was understandable curiosity among viewers to catch two of Hindi cinema’s greatest legends in the same frame. Many called it the ‘clash of the Titans.’
Among its many dialogues, Dilip Kumar’s explains his professional devotion to his torn wife, ‘Aur sivay is guroor ke mere paas hai bhi kya?’ On the other hand, son consoles his mother: ‘In usool aur adarshon ka bojh uthane ka shauq jisse hai usse uthane do.’ There’s a world of hurt hidden in that ‘bhi’ when Mr. Bachchan’s downcast baritone and wounded eyes convey volumes when he says “Main yeh baat bhi yaad rakhunga” to his dad.
There are countless memorable scenes, but the one in which both father son are crying, silently, on the death of Vijay’s mother is beyond expression.
Shakti has its unique, accomplished space.
MAIN AZAAD HOON (1989)
Main Aazaad Hoon is one of the most underrated movies of Amitabh Bachchan. Tinu Anand, one of Mr. Bachchan’s closest friends, fashioned this desi remake of Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe.
It is very difficult for any movie with a hypothetical plot to touch the human feelings more than this but Mr. Bachchan personified the rise of everyman to a national hero and it was a rousing performance rendered to perfection.
Sadly, the movie was released at a time when the career of Mr. Bachchan was struggling for a breath of fresh air.
AGNEEPATH (1990)
An epitome of performance and style in the genre of gangster movies that came at the pinnacle of the golden era of gangster movies in India overshadowing all others. Mr. Bachchan was oozing with power and confidence, the power of enunciated emotions never portrayed before in such a cumulative fashion.
The angst, the anger, the frustration, the pain, it simply speaks volumes from his eyes that even the dialogues fail to encompass. Great script, and brilliant direction. Cinematography and screenplay set a new milestone then. The scenes with a crowd of thousands in slums was not a common sight in Bollywood then.
Agneepath is, without doubt, one the best performance of Mr. Bachchan’s illustrious career.
SARKAAR (2005)
SARKAR is a creation of a lifetime from Ram Gopal Verma that sucks you into it and throws you out.
When the system fails Sarkar rises to power and provides justice to whoever approaches him. Playing Subhash Nagare (Sarkar) illustrating all emotions through his eyes with very fewer dialogs spoken, Amitabh Bachchan proficiently establishes a massive screen presence captivating the audience throughout the movie.
“Sarkar” is an Acting galore. Exceptional performances by Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Supriya Pathak, and others also.
BLACK (2005)
Amitabh Bachchan wowed the critics and the audiences with his ground-breaking performance in Black, a Sanjay Leela Bhansali masterpiece.
Playing the role of an aging teacher whose student is blind and deaf, Amitabh Bachchan’s role was both shocking and heart-rending. Rani Mukherji was brilliant in her role, but it was Debraj Sahai (Amitabh) that etched her hearts with something indescribable.
To an extent, Black can be classified as an art-house film rather than a commercial film due to its bold content. Black was a revolutionary moment for Hindi Cinema and Mr. Bachchan showed his supreme acting skills like never before.
Before anyone complains, I render my apology in advance to have missed many superlative performances of the legend. Anyway, it was close to blasphemy, choosing Mr. Bachchan’s best performances. I am sure, you all are not very disappointed.
Wishing a very happy birthday to our dear Mr. Bachchan.
Editor's Note: Pictures are provided by the author, they are for representational purposes only. No copyright infringment intended.
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