Also see Amitabh special | Why is Big B such a big star? | Wish Amitabh!

"Amitabh is Amitabh". "There’s no one like Amitabh". "Nobody can match Amitabh Bachchan’s popularity". These and similar statements are commonly heard. And not just in the film trade but also among the general public.

What is it that makes Amitabh so different from the others of his ilk? Why in the last 30 years have we never had any actor who has had the same fan following and who could clearly step into his shoes? What is it that really made Bachchan stand above all the other stars who’ve come after the superstar first made an appearance on the screen in 1969 in Saat Hindustani?

Quite simply, Bachchan’s string of box-office hits! One after the other, the actor’s films hit the jackpot with such alarming regularity that in the seventies and eighties, Amitabh Bachchan became the safest bet for producers, distributors and exhibitors alike. I use the world alike to differentiate the scene that existed when Bachchan was the numero uno and the one that exists today.

For instance, a Salman Khan today may guarantee mega-bucks for the producers of his films but there’s no like guarantee that distributors and exhibitors of his starrers will also make money. As in the case of most of his releases before his latest, Tere Naam. While producers of Salman-starrers made table profits, distributors of his films burnt their fingers rather badly when those films flopped. It was after almost two-three years that everybody associated with a Salman-starrer made money in Tere Naam.

Ditto in the case of films of other topline stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan or others like Ajay Devgan, Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol or, for that matter, anybody else. Why, even current heartthrob Hrithik Roshan’s films such as Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage and Na Tum Jaano Na Hum entailed heavy losses to its distributors. That used to not be the case with Bachchan flicks.

Secondly, merely the superstar’s name was enough to draw in the crowds into cinemas in his heyday. Today, no hero can boast of such charisma as to lure the audiences to theatres on the sheer strength of their names. Shah Rukh Khan’s home production, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, could not even manage decent houses on the opening day, leave alone full houses. Anil Kapoor has never really drawn initial crowds; his starrers usually pick up by word of mouth publicity if they are good. Even action heroes like Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar had had to remain content with dismal opening of their flicks on more occasions then one.

But the Bachchan magic was one of a kind. Whether it was Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer in 1973 or Manoj Kumar’s multi-star cast Roti Kapada Aur Makaan in 1974, Yash Chopra’s evergreen Deewaar or Ramesh Sippy’s all-time blockbuster Sholay in 1975, Bachchan’s first film with Rekha - Do Anjaane - in 1976 or Manmohan Desai’s biggest entertainer, Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, the two common features in all these hits were Amitabh Bachchan’s towering presence in them and a bumper box-office initial draw. Don, Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar made 1978 a memorable year for the Big B. The following year may not have been as good but Bachchan, nevertheless, did deliver Mr. Natwarlal and Suhaag in the last year of the seventies.

The next decade was equally exciting for the superstar who did not seem to age at all. Today, when heroes find it difficult to hold their own for even ten years, Amitabh Bachchan ruled the box-office for over two decades as the undisputed Maharaja of movies with no close second! Ram Balram, Laawaris, Naseeb, Khuddar, Andhaa Kaanoon, Coolie, Sharaabi and Mard were some of the actor’s great hits of the first half of the eighties.

Of course, when Amitabh Bachchan reigned supreme, films did not have to face the opposition of video and cable piracy as today. Cinema-going was the only and cheapest form of entertainment for the masses who identified with the angry young man image of Bachchan. But where films of the great actor did not have to fight the piracy battle or even the opposition of countless satellite channels, the media hype too was far less during his days. He did not have every television channel covering him or his films because there were simply no satellite channels. He even went off press for a few years but for that, he had only himself to blame.

Yet another factor that went in Bachchan’s favour in making him the darling of all sections of society was his unbelievable versatility. It is not for nothing that the Big B became a superstar. Although he was adored in angry young man roles, he never let down his fans in non-action films too. Comedy, like action, was his forte and if he could represent the frustrations of the helpless youth of those times, he could as well play the comedian with equal élan. Chupke Chupke and AAA come to mind instantly when one thinks of Bachchan’s flair for comedy. With equal ease, Amitabh also played the intense lover as in Kabhie Kabhie and Silsila.