On Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday, the usual reflex is to count blockbusters. The Filmfare awards record offers something sharper: a three-act map of a career that has refused to stay in one register. Bachchan enters as a supporting player, becomes the leading man of 1970s and 80s Hindi cinema, and then spends the 2000s chasing roles instead of just image.
The supporting-actor start
The trail begins with Anand (1971), which won Bachchan his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor; the film also won Best Film. He returned to the winners’ list in the same category for Namak Haraam, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s drama co-starring Rajesh Khanna.
The leading-man years
Amar Akbar Anthony changed the lane. Manmohan Desai’s film won Bachchan his first Best Actor trophy, alongside awards for music direction and editing. Don made it two Best Actor wins in 1979, and Hum later added another Best Actor among its four Filmfare wins at the 37th awards.
The critics’ phase
By the 2000s, the award categories tell a different story. Mohabbatein won him Best Supporting Actor at the 46th Filmfare Awards. Aks took Best Actor (Critics) at the 47th edition, and Black doubled up with Best Actor and Best Actor (Critics) at the 51st awards.
Paa brought the headline-grabbing fifth Best Actor win, with Bachchan playing a 12-year-old boy with a rare genetic condition while Abhishek Bachchan played his father. Piku and Gulabo Sitabo, both Shoojit Sircar collaborations, added Best Actor (Critics) honours.
The rewatch map
For fans, the list doubles as a study plan. It runs from early 1970s drama to the masala entertainer, the thriller, the tearjerker and the modern family comedy. At the 70th Filmfare Awards, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan were jointly named Cine Icons of Indian Cinema for the 1970s, a fitting bookend to a record that starts with a supporting-role victory and ends as an era by itself.
- Best Supporting Actor: Anand, Namak Haraam, Mohabbatein
- Best Actor: Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, Hum, Black, Paa
- Best Actor (Critics): Aks, Black, Piku, Gulabo Sitabo
- Honorary: Cine Icons of Indian Cinema, with Jaya Bachchan, at the 70th Filmfare Awards
Source: Filmfare