Through the years: Spellbinding avatars of Amitabh Bachchan on our screens

Vijay Verma, ‘Deewaar’

'Deewaar' is a 1975 Indian crime-drama film directed by Yash Chopra, written by Salim-Javed, and starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor. It was one of one of those films which established Bachchan as the "angry young man" of Bollywood. His dialogue delivery still rings in one years.

Insp. Vijay Shrivastava/Shahenshah, ‘Shahenshah’

'Shahenshah' is a 1988 Bollywood vigilante film starring Amitabh Bachchan in the title role, along with Meenakshi Sheshadri. The story of the film was written by Amitabh Bachchan's wife Jaya Bachchan and the screenplay was written by veteran screenwriter Inder Raj Anand who died before the film was released. Amitabh Bachchan played the role of a man full of anger and revenge and did justice to the title role.

Vijay Chauhan, ‘Agneepath’

'Agneepath' is a 1990 Indian action drama film directed by Mukul Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan as the main protagonist Vijay Deenanath Chauhan. The title was taken from a poem of the same name called 'Agneepath' which was penned by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Amitabh's father. The look of Amitabh's character was well-worked on. He had to wear kajal to show in depth in his eyes expressing grave anger residing in his character's soul. And he did wonders portraying the same.

Badshah Khan, ‘Khuda Gawah’

'Khuda Gawah' is a 1992 Bollywood epic romance drama film. Amitabh Bachchan played the role of an Afghani and his look and costume were designed according to Afghanistan traditions. But the real challenge was whether he would be able to imbibe the dialect and demeanour of the character. He did and nailed it.

Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh and Heera Singh, ‘Sooryavansham’

'Sooryavansham' is a 1999 Bollywood drama starring Amitabh Bachchan in a dual role of a father and his son. The father's character shows him as rude and a very strict man and the son's character shows him as a humble and simple man. Needless to say, Big B was stellar in both the roles.

Debraj Sahai, ‘Black’

In 2005, Big B played the role of a teacher who teaches a blind, deaf and mute girl, the purpose of life. He teaches her how to life her life, despite the sensory challenges that she has been born with. It was a very difficult role of someone who has the most difficult job of teaching a girl with darkness, but the actor nailed it. Also, as he ages in the movie, he is shown suffering from Alzheimer's and it's really painful to see those scenes between him and Rani Mukerji.

Buddhadev Gupta, ‘Cheeni Kum’

'Cheeni Kum' is a 2007 Bollywood romance film directed by R. Balki, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal and Swini Khara. He played a role of a 64-year-old chef and owner of London's top Indian restaurant, who falls in love with a woman half his age. Even then, Big B was as dashing as any young actor of the time, and as romantic, in his own brooding manner, in this tale of comic romance.

The singing man, ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’

Amitabh Bachchan's most creative look was seen in 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' with a brilliantly bizarre costume. He was a rockstar, and even though he was just there for few scenes and a song, his presence was a delight in this otherwise blah movie.

Kailash Bath, ‘Bhootnath’

'Bhoothnath' is a 2008 Bollywood supernatural comedy film directed by Vivek Sharma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla. Big B plays a role of a ghost in this movie with dirty nails, hairs and teeth. But the compassion he brings about in his role of a friendly ghost who befriends the kid in the family, is endearing.

Auro, ‘Paa’

'Paa' is a 2009 Indian comedy-drama film directed by R. Balakrishnan starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vidya Balan. Amitabh Bachchan plays a role of 12-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic disorder called progeria. The man brought tears to everyone's eyes, and made them laugh too, with both the antics and emotions of Auro. He received his third National Film Award for Best Actor and his fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award, and deserved it every bit.

Subhash Nagre, ‘Sarkar’

'Sarkar' is a 2005 Indian dramatic thriller film set in the world of politics and crime, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, inspired partly by the 'The Godfather'. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan in the title role alongside his real-life son, Abhishek Bachchan as the younger son. He played a role of Subhash Nagare, and his act of the brooding don-like figure earned him much accolades.

Meyer Wolfsheim, ‘The Great Gatsby’

Amitabh Bachchan played a role of Jew gangster in 'The Great Gatsby' with his new look in beard and moustache. He made a cameo appearance as Meyer Wolfshiem, and even in those few moments, left a deep impression in this Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer.

Amitabh Sinha, ‘Shamitabh’

'Shamitabh' is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by R. Balki. The film features Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara Haasan in the lead roles. Sr Bachchan in the role of a failed actor who becomes the voice-over for a mute but brilliant performer, was different and amazing.

Bhashkor Banerjee, ‘Piku’

In the critically acclaimed 2015 flick 'Piku', Amitabh Bachchan played the role of a grumpy ageing man named Bhashkor and his daughter's role was played by Deepika Padukone. Bachchan's performance landed him his fourth National Award for Best Actor and also his third Filmfare Award.

Deepak Sehgal, ‘PINK’

Last year, Amitabh Bachchan was seen as a righteous and honest lawyer in the women-centric flick 'PINK'. While the three female protagonists played the central characters, Big B was the catalyst who helped them fight against injustice. He played the role to perfection and earned praises.