Amitabh 81st birthday: Iconic roles portrayed by ‘Shahenshah’ of Bollywood

As the ‘Shahenshah of Bollywood’ turned 81 on Wednesday, his fans outside Amitabh Bachchan’s residence, ‘Jalsa’, to wish him on his birthday.Over the course of an illustrious career spanning decades, Amitabh has delivered numerous hits, punctuated with dialogues that have become part of the folklore. Blockbusters such as Zanjeer, Namak Haraam, Deewar, Chupke Chupke, and Sholay, among others, featured the megastar in unforgettable roles. His filmography and roles bear ample testament of his versatility as an actor. However, what makes the legendary actor’s performances even more fascinating is that he never shied away from experimenting with his appearance on screen to do justice to the roles he enacted. On his 81st birthday, here’s a look at some of Amitabh’s iconic roles:

ZANJEER

This film, directed by Prakash Mehra, was a crucial moment in Amitabh Bachchan's career. The hit movie earned him the title of 'The Angry Young Man.' Big B portrayed the role of Inspector Vijay Khanna and one of his impactful dialogues, “Jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaye, sharafat se khade raho. Yeh Police Station hai, tumhare baap ka ghar nahi.”

SHOLAY

Helmed by Ramesh Sippy, the action-adventure film was released in 1975. It starred Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Amjad Khan, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan in the lead roles and was declared a blockbuster hit. The chemistry between Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) was remarkable.

DEEWAR

Who could forget the powerful line, "Mere Paas maa hai..." Directed by Yash Chopra, this movie saw the duel between Amitabh Bachchan's Vijay and Shashi Kapoor's Ravi. Fate brought two brothers at the two ends of a spectrum, a cop and a criminal. The movie is still talked about for its powerful dialogue.

DON

The Chandra Barot directorial crime-thriller featured Amitabh Bachhan in double roles opposite Zeenat Aman, Pran, Iftekhar, and Helen. The movie spins around a lawbreaker, his break from the police, and how his lookalike took his place to help the police uncover the entire gang. The story was written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. Don (1978) was one of the greatest earning motion pictures of its time and rules the hearts of the fans even now.

SHAHENSHAH

In the film Shahenshah, the 81-year-old actor switched from a not-so-brave police officer to a man armed with an iron hand to fight crime. The movie and his look were appreciated by the audience.

LAAWARIS

In the movie ‘Laawaris’, Amitabh got into the character of woman. He wore women's clothing including sarees, lehengas and salwar suits for the song 'Mere Angne Mein.’

AGNEEPATH

Released in 1990, 'Agneepath' was turning point moment in Amitabh Bachchan's career, earning him his first National Award for Best Actor. The plot of the film centres around a man's unwavering drive for vengeance for his father's death and the injustices imposed on his family, which leads him to become enmeshed in the Mumbai underworld.

PAA

Amitabh played Auro, a 12-year-old boy with progeria, in the film 'Paa'. And he shaved his head for the part. In the film, Abhishek Bachchan played the character of his real-life father's father for the first time in film history.