Amitabh Bachchan, one of the biggest stars the country has ever seen, will be conferred with India’s highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for the year 2019.
Last year, this award, which is given to recipients for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema, was awarded to late actor Vinod Khanna.
Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar took to Twitter to make the announcement. He tweeted: “The legend Amitabh Bachchan who entertained and inspired for 2 generations has been selected unanimously for #DadaSahabPhalke award. The entire country and international community is happy. My heartiest Congratulations to him.”
The legend Amitabh Bachchan who entertained and inspired for 2 generations has been selected unanimously for #DadaSahabPhalke award. The entire country and international community is happy. My heartiest Congratulations to him.@narendramodi @SrBachchan pic.twitter.com/obzObHsbLk
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) September 24, 2019
Amitabh Bachchan debuted in Bollywood in 1969 with the movie Saat Hindustani. The movie tanked at the box office. He rose to fame with his role in 1972’s Zanjeer which gave him the name of ‘an angry young man’. Born on October 11, 1942, in Allahabad to renowned Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and social activist Teji Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan’s performances in films like Laawaris, Coolie, Naseeb, Silsila and Shaarabi continued to enamour his fans and also landed him multiple Fanfare Awards.
From the 1970s through the early 1980s, the swashbuckling Bachchan appeared in more than 100 films. He seized opportunities to work with India’s most acclaimed directors, such as Prakash Mehra and dominated the silver screen with films like Trishul, Sholay and Chashme Baddoor.
Amitabh joined politics in the year 1980. In the 1990s, he started his own production company, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. (ABCL). He, however, returned to acting in 1997, with the film Mrityudaata. In 2000, he began hosting the game show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ which he does till date.
In 2003 Amitabh was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The legendary actor has entertained his fan for five decades.
Last year, on completing 49 years in Bollywood, Senior Bachchan, who is an active social media user, has recited a poem, written by him, for his legion of fans. The 75-year-old actor then shared the link to his Facebook post on his Twitter handle, along with a throwback photo with his wife, Jaya Bachchan. “My poem I wrote for my Blog .. now have recited it .. ” he wrote alongside the tweet.
T 2614 – My poem I wrote for my Blog .. now have recited it .. https://t.co/4jdEZBZxXK pic.twitter.com/eWbV181twT
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 14, 2018
Over the years, Amitabh Bachchan has won several awards for his contribution to Hindi cinema and arts. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He has also been conferred with France’s highest civilian honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2007. As far as the National Awards are concerned, he has won in the Best Actor category for his performance in Agneepath, Black, Paa and Piku. Big B has won 15 Filmfare Awards and five IIFA Awards till date.
Soon after Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar took to Twitter to make this announcement, the micro-blogging site was overcrowded with messages congratulating Amitabh Bachchan.
