Abhishek Bachchan

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. 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 Kayastha heritage on his father's side, Bengali from his mother's side and Punjabi from his grandmother's side–who moved from Faisalabad to Mumbai before the partition of India.

Bachchan was dyslexic as a child; this was referred to by Aamir Khan in the film Taare Zameen Par. He attended Jamnabai Narsee School and Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai, Modern School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, and Aiglon College in Switzerland. He then attended Boston University, and subsequently moved on to Bollywood.

Bachchan has starred in over 50 films in both lead and supporting roles, but only two films in which the actor has played a lead role have been commercially successful, Bunty Aur Babli (2005) and Guru (2007 film).

The actor recently admitted in an interview that the string of commercially unsuccessful films in his career have taught him a lot in life.

2000–2003

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 did not fare very 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."

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).

2004–2008

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 (Shahrukh 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" 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." The film starred him alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (their first professional collaboration after marriage), R. Madhavan, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, and Arya Babbar.

His next release was the dance comedy Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007) alongside Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol, and Lara Dutta. Although the film failed at the Indian box office, it 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 a major success 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.

2010–present

Bachchan experienced a brief setback in his career with four films that failed critically and commercially. These films were the thriller Raavan (2010), the social drama Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (2010), the action thriller Game (2011) and the heist thriller Players (2012). Only Dum Maaro Dum did well.

Bachchan then played a supporting role alongside Ajay Devgan, Asin, and Prachi Desai in Rohit Shetty's comedy Bol Bachchan (2012), which was a major blockbuster at the box office despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. Film critic Anupama Chopra called Bachchan a "good part of the film" and also commented that he "manages to sparkle even in a script that is lazy and determinedly lowbrow". Bachchan received several comedian awards for his role (Including Screen & IIFA).

Bachchan then appeared in Dhoom 3 (2013), which featured him and Uday Chopra reprising their roles from the previous two Dhoom films. In this installment of the series, they were joined by Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif. While the film became a major blockbuster, most critics commented that Bachchan's performance was overshadowed by Khan's.

Bachchan was next seen in Farah Khan's blockbuster Happy New Year, a musical heist film which featured an ensemble cast of Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. Dhoom 3 currently ranks among the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.

Bachchan was then seen in the 2015 family-drama All Is Well, which failed at the box office. Bachchan's first release of 2016 was the comedy Housefull 3, a sequel of the 2012 film Housefull 2. The film was successful at the box office.

After being away from screen for a long time, Abhishek will play lead role in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali production which is a biographical film about love story of poet Sahir Ludhianvi and author Amrita Pritam. For the same film, Irrfan Khan's name was discussed earlier, however later the role went to Abhishek. For the female lead, Priyanka Chopra was approached, but she refused the project. Now Abhishek will be paired with his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in this film. After 2010, this film will reunite the couple once again for their 9^th film together.

Abhishek Bachchan bought the Pro Kabaddi League franchise team Jaipur Pink Panthers and co-bought the Indian Super League football team Chennaiyin FC. in 2014. Jaipur Pink Panthers won the first ever championships held in 2014. Chennaiyin FC won the ISL 2015.

In 2005, he was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which sought to raise funds for The Banyan, a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai.

In the summer of 2008, Bachchan, his wife, his father, and actors Preity Zinta, Riteish Deshmukh, and Madhuri Dixit starred in the "Unforgettable World Tour" stage production. The first leg covered the USA, Canada, Trinidad, and London. Bachchan is also involved in the functional and administrative operations of his father's company, originally known as ABCL, and renamed as AB Corp. Ltd. That company, along with Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., developed the Unforgettable production.

In 2011, Bachchan has promoted awareness of drug abuse in India as part of a citizen education campaign. The actor launched the Awareness Day race, which celebrated the silver jubilee of the country's Narcotics Control Bureau.

Bachchan has been brand ambassador for products like LG Home appliances, American Express credit cards, Videocon DTH, Motorola mobiles, Ford Fiesta and Idea mobiles.

In 2009, Abhishek Bachchan was announced the winner of the "Best Brand Ambassador of the Year" award at the NDTV Techlife Awards 2009.

AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research conducted a study on celebrity brand endorsements for the period of Jan–Dec 2010 in which Abhishek Bachchan eats the pie with a 4.7% share ad volume out of the 41.5% film actors on the endorsement circuit.

Abhishek Bachchan became the brand ambassador for TTK Prestige, part of the TTK Group in October 2013 along with his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

In 2014, he became the brand ambassador for the END7 campaign of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. The goal of the campaign is to eradicate seven different tropical diseases by 2020.

Bachchan with wife Aishwarya Rai in 2014.

In October 2002, at his father Amitabh Bachchan's 60th birthday celebration, Abhishek and actress Karishma Kapoor announced their engagement. The engagement was called off in January 2003. Bachchan fell in love with Aishwarya Rai whilst filming for Dhoom 2, though both of them had already appeared together in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (in which her then longtime boyfriend, Salman Khan, made a brief cameo) and Kuch Naa Kaho. Bachchan and Rai announced their engagement on 14 January 2007 which was later confirmed by his father, Amitabh Bachchan. The couple was married on 20 April 2007, according to traditional Hindu rituals of the Bunt community, to which Rai belongs. The wedding took place in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, Prateeksha, in Juhu, Mumbai, but was heavily covered by the entertainment media. The couple appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in September 2009, and were described as more famous than Brangelina. They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media. Rai gave birth to a baby girl on 16 November 2011. Her daughter became quite popular by the name of "Beti B" which was named by the fans and the media, since the couple took over four months to name their daughter. The baby girl was finally named as Aaradhya Bachchan in March 2012.

For his roles in the films Yuva (2004), Sarkar (2006) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Bachchan won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Singles

Featured in

• 2015: "Until the Sun Comes Up" (Raghav feat. Abhishek Bachchan & Nelly)