Education of Amitabh Bachchan

Endearingly referred to as the Big B, Amitabh Bachchan has carved his name on the Indian cinema as the superstar of the Millenium. He was once just a voice artist often discarded for his tall height and baritone to become an actor but little did people knew that he will become an impactful presence for many decades in the Indian film industry. Today, he has an uncountable number of films and awards that have brought him at the top of the esteemed actors in Bollywood. Taking you on a cinematic ride of how a young man from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh went on to become an Indian megastar, this blog aims to delve deeper into the quest of education of Amitabh Bachchan, exploring his academic milestones as well as the key lessons we can learn from him.

“Life is a blur when one is essaying different roles; it is so fulfilling.”

The Journey of the “Shahenshah”

During the Indian cinema of the 1960s, the films were created with an idealistic and romantic hero figure who possessed a familial devotion, optimism and flamboyance. But the 70s changed something about this romantic image of the male protagonist. It was the advent of the “Angry Young Man” played by Amitabh Bachchan donning a fierce character ready to take on the villain with his relentless attitude. Be it Deewar, Zanjeer or Sholay, Bachchan came into the spotlight bringing a never-seen persona, aptly capturing the anger of the oppressed section and fighting for their atrocities. With the foundation of the education of Amitabh Bachchan laid down in the hill-state of Nainital as well as the Indian capital, this young kid from Allahabad with his head full of dreams decided to come to the Mayanagri Mumbai and endured many disappointments due to his deep voice and tall persona. 

“Change is the nature of life but challenge is the future of life. So Challenge the changes. Never Change the Challenges.”

Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942, to Harivansh Rai and Teji Bachchan and during a time when India was still under the ending years of British rule. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a famed Hindi poet who wrote during the Nayi Kavita Literary Movement while his mother was a Sikh socialite. Originally named as Inquillab Shrivastava, the primary and secondary education of Amitabh Bachchan was carried out at a boarding school, named as Sherwood College in Nainital. He was later renamed as “Amitabh” by his father on his friend and poet Sumitranandan Pant’s suggestion.

“Make Your Own Choices In Light Of Your Own Wisdom.”

To carry further with his higher education, Amitabh came to the Indian capital to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree and then a double major for his postgraduation at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. With the conclusion of the education of Amitabh Bachchan, he travelled to Calcutta to work as a freight broker. But after a few years, he had made his mind to explore his dream of becoming an actor in Mumbai. His inclination towards acting has also been believed to have come from his mother who loved theatre and once declined a role in a feature film because of following her domestic duties. 

“I like to feel the butterflies in the stomach, I like to go home and have a restless night and wonder how I’m going to be able to accomplish this feat, get jittery. That hunger and those butterflies in the stomach are very essential for all creative people.”

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It was at the end of the 1960s when Bachchan began his film career as a voice artist for Mrinal Sen’s Bengali film in 1969. But before that, his baritone voice was often discarded primarily by the All India Radio and later by many film producers. Then, in the same year, he got a role in the Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s “Saat Hindustani” which claimed the kickstart of his cinematic journey. Moving further, he paved his own path in Bollywood with well-known films like Anand, Parwana, Guddi, Reshma aur Shera, amongst others. Getting familiarised with the Indian cinema and its nuisances, as it can be said the film education of Amitabh Bachchan during his early phase helped him in furnish his acting skills which later shone as the Angry Young Man character which was inspired by the literary British New Waves. He honed this persona in many of his evergreen films from Shahenshah, Zanjeer and the classic Sholay. From then, he went on an unstoppable journey releasing blockbusters like Coolie, Namak Haraam, Kasme Vaade, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Trishul, Ram Balraam, Kaalia, and many more.

Don’t Forget to Take a Look at the Academic Quest of Baadshah through Education of Shahrukh Khan!

Career Lessons To Remember

Now that you know the journey of education of Amitabh Bachchan, there are many lessons to take away from his sailing crusade to making his name into the most famous personalities of India. We have curated a list of these career lessons that can guide in your professional ventures ahead.

• Carve Your Own Niche: Entering Bollywood by breaking the monotony that male leads have to be romantic and idealistic by playing heroic roles with an angry-young-man image, Big B motivated a million others to find their own niche! In whichever field you want to make your career, make sure to find a unique way of doing it!
• Stay Grounded: Even after becoming a legend, Mr Bachchan stays true to his roots by remembering his parents in almost every speech. Verses and poems composed by his father rest in his heart giving out a message to always be connected to the ones who raised you!
• Always See the Glass as Half Full: Amitabh Bachchan has always emphasised on the significance of optimism in one’s life. No matter how much of adversity you have been facing in life, always try to see the glass as half full, that there is a silver lining in every difficulty that you come across.
• Imbibe a “Never Say Never” Attitude: Being rejected at multiple auditions for his dark skin and rough voice, he finally did his acting debut with Saat Hindustani which later got him the part of Dr Bhaskar Banerjee in the movie Anand for which he bagged the award of Filmfare’s Best Supporting Actor. One must never give up is what life of this legend teaches us!
• Self-Discipline: Punctuality is a value that has been imbibed throughout the education of Amitabh Bachchan as well as his professional quest. To become respected in your field, it is important to inculcate the habit of self-discipline as it is a virtue that very few possess.

“I’d like to believe that tomorrow is another challenge for me. I’m sure there is lots more for me to do, because there is lots and lots of stuff still to be explored.”

Hence, from the education of Amitabh Bachchan to his quest towards becoming the megastar of Bollywood, the only thing that made him stand out is his persistent strive towards success, taking failures as lessons and always finding a way to be optimistic. While struggle is an inescapable aspect of life, what becomes important is to never give up and keep your head high. If you have been conflicted somewhere in your career endeavours, Leverage Edu counsellors are always here to provide you with the right guidance and mentorship that can bring you closer to actualising your dream career!