Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976)

12 min readJan 4, 2021

Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.

Bachchan made his acting debut in 2000 with J. P. Dutta’s war film Refugee, and followed it by starring in over a dozen films which were all critical and commercial failures. His first commercial successes came with the 2004 action films Dhoom and Run, which changed his career prospects. Bachchan went on to earn critical appreciation for his performances in the dramas Yuva (2004), Sarkar (2005), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), which won him three consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him the second and only actor after Dilip Kumar to win 3 Filmfare awards consecutively. In 2007, he portrayed a character loosely based on Dhirubhai Ambani in Mani Ratnam’s drama film Guru, which earned him critical acclaim and a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Bachchan has also played leading and supporting roles in commercially successful comedies and dramas, including Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Bluffmaster! (2005), Guru (2007), Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007), Dostana (2008), Dum Maro Dum (2011), Bol Bachchan (2012), Happy New Year (2014) and Housefull 3 (2016). His highest-grossing releases include the action sequels in which he plays the lead protagonist ACP Jai Dixit in Dhoom trilogy (2004–2013).[1]

In addition to his three Filmfare Awards, Bachchan won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for producing the comedy-drama Paa (2009). Since 2007, he has been married to actress Aishwarya Rai, with whom he has a daughter.[2][3]

Early life[edit]

See also: Bachchan family

Bachchan (right) with his parents Amitabh and Jaya in February 2014

Abhishek Bachchan was born on 5 February 1976 in Mumbai to veteran actors of Hindi cinema, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan (ńee Bhaduri), an accomplished actress in her own right. He has a sister, Shweta Bachchan. His grandfather, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a noted poet of the Nayi Kavita Literary Movement of the Hindi literature and professor at the Allahabad University in Uttar Pradesh, while his grandmother, Teji Bachchan, was a social activist. The original surname of his family is Srivastava, Bachchan being the pen name used by his grandfather. However, when Amitabh entered films, he did so under his father’s pen name. Bachchan is of Awadhi and Punjabi heritage on his father’s side,[4][5][6][7] and Bengali from his mother’s side. His maternal grandfather was Taroon Kumar Bhaduri, a famous author, and poet. TK Bhaduri wrote a famous book Obhishopto Chambol (Cursed Chambal), an account of his experiences as a journalist/writer in the area. This book provided the raw material and inspiration to almost all dacoit-related films made by the Hindi film industry in India.[8]

Abhishek attended Jamnabai Narsee School and Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai, Modern School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, and Aiglon College in Switzerland.[9] He then attended Boston University but did not obtain any degree from there and he subsequently moved on to Bollywood.[10][11] He was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 9.[12][13]

Career[edit]

2000–2009: Debut, setback and resurgence[edit]

In 2000, Bachchan made his film debut playing the male lead in J. P. Dutta’s war drama Refugee opposite Kareena Kapoor, who was also making her debut in the film. Although the film only performed moderately well at the box office, both Bachchan and Kapoor received positive reviews for their performances. Film critic Taran Adarsh wrote that he “has all it takes to emerge a competent actor in years to come. Even in his debut-making film, Abhishek comes across as a fine actor and lives up to his family name.”[14]

Bachchan also shot for a cameo in the 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…, a scene which was later edited out of the film.[15]

After Refugee, Bachchan starred in a series of poorly received films that failed to make a mark at the box office. However, his performance in Sooraj R. Barjatya’s romantic dramedy Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003) earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he went on to win the award the following year for his performance in Mani Ratnam’s political drama Yuva (2004).[16]

Bachchan better established himself in Hindi cinema playing a no-nonsense Mumbai police officer in the blockbuster action thriller Dhoom (2004), which also starred Uday Chopra, John Abraham, Esha Deol, and Rimi Sen in pivotal roles. His next two films were Phir Milenge (2004) and Naach (2004).

Bachchan’s first release of 2005 was the crime comedy Bunty Aur Babli, which featured him and Rani Mukerji as the titular con artist duo who perform several successful heists and fall in love along the way. The film emerged as the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2005, and earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. This film also marked his first professional collaboration with his father Amitabh Bachchan, who played a police officer closely following the lead pair.

Bachchan was next seen in Ram Gopal Varma’s political drama Sarkar, which was a moderate success at the box office. His performance as the morally upright son of a troubled politician (played by his father Amitabh Bachchan) earned him rave reviews from critics as well as his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next two releases Dus (2005) and Bluffmaster! (2005) were both moderately successful, but did not earn much critical appreciation.

Bachchan won his third consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Karan Johar’s critically acclaimed romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), which emerged as a moderate commercial success despite the fact that it dealt with the controversial subject of marital infidelity. Bachchan played the role of a man whose wife (Rani Mukerji) is unhappy with their marriage, and so begins an affair with a friend (Shah Rukh Khan) who is also unhappy with his marriage to his wife (Preity Zinta).

Bachchan then starred opposite Aishwarya Rai in the period romance Umrao Jaan, a remake of the 1981 film of the same name starring Rekha and Farooq Sheikh in the lead roles. The film failed to earn the same level of appreciation as the original, and was also a commercial failure. He was next seen in Dhoom 2 (2006), which featured him and Uday Chopra reprising their roles from the original Dhoom (2004) joined by new cast members Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, and Bipasha Basu. The film emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2006, but some critics commented that Bachchan was “reduced to a mere supporting player”[17] to his co-star Roshan.

Bachchan earned much critical acclaim for his performance in Mani Ratnam’s Guru (2007), loosely based on the life of business magnate Dhirubhai Ambani.”[18] The film starred him alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (their first professional collaboration after marriage), R. Madhavan, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, and Arya Babbar. The film was a commercial success at the box office.

His next release was the dance comedy Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007) alongside Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol, and Lara Dutta. The film was declared average by Box Office India and was a moderate success overseas. He was then seen playing a minor role in the female-centric drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007) as the love interest of the film’s lead actress Rani Mukerji.

Bachchan’s first release of 2008 was Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar Raj, which featured him and his father Amitabh Bachchan reprising their roles from Sarkar (2005) while his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan entered the cast as a new addition. This film proved to be successful at the box office and earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next release was the fantasy adventure film Drona (2008), which was a major failure both critically and commercially.

Bachchan was next seen in Dostana (2008), a romantic comedy about two men (Bachchan and John Abraham) who pretend to be gay in order to be allowed to live with a girl (Priyanka Chopra), but then find that they have both fallen in love with her. The film was a major success at the box office and earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Bachchan’s first release of 2009 was Delhi-6, which received a lukewarm response from critics. Later that year he was seen in the family dramedy Paa, which he also produced. The film’s plot centered on a boy (Amitabh Bachchan) who suffers from progeria whose parents were played by Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan. For his work as a producer on the film, Bachchan earned the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976)

Contents

Early life[edit]

Career[edit]

2000–2009: Debut, setback and resurgence[edit]

Written by Jecite