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Blast From The Past: When Amitabh Bachchan was banned by the media for fifteen years
Did you know that Amitabh Bachchan who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema, as well as world cinema, was once banned by the media for 15 years?
The Shahenshah of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan gained popularity in the early 1970s for films such as Zanjeer, Deewaar and Sholay, and was dubbed India's 'angry young man' for his on-screen roles in Bollywood. Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema as well as world cinema. Big B has won numerous accolades in his career, including four National Film Awards as Best Actor, Dadasaheb Phalke Award as lifetime achievement award and many awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies. But did you know that Amitabh Bachchan was banned by the media for 15 years?
It happened in the year 1975 when India observed Emergency that was declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During that time, the Bachchan family was close to the Gandhi family. Infact because of Big B's friendship with Rajiv Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan even stepped his foot into politics and won at the Allahabad elections. During the emergency, many magazines and channels were banned. Due to Mr Bachchan's closeness with the Gandhi family, there were reports that Amitabh used his influence to shut down a magazine. Censorship had been implemented in these magazines.
Due to this, a cold war brewed between the magazines and Mr Bachchan and they banned the megastar. However, it was in 1982, when Amitabh met with a fatal accident on the sets of Coolie and the magazine offered a peace treaty by publishing an article on him. After Amitabh Bachchan's movies started failing at the box office because of not much coverage and promotions, it is when Big B finally sat down with the MD of the magazine and cleared the air, ending the ban of fifteen years.
Amitabh Bachchan even wrote on his blog about the misunderstanding that was created between him and the media due to which he was banned for 15 years. Big B said that because the media were informed by ‘sources' that he had brought on the idea of the Emergency and a ban on the press. Nothing could have been more ridiculous. Deewar, Sharabi, Muquaddar ka Sikander, Lawaaris, Natwarlal, Bemisal, and so many many others went blank because the media had banned him.
He further wrote, "They banning me was reasonable perhaps from their point of view. Not for me. I took on the challenge to ban them also from my life and have so far not disturbed that stand with certain modifications of course. During that 10-15 year period, they relentlessly negated my presence, deliberately closed information of me by their agencies, and kept me as persona non grata ..! I had my biggest hits and the most interesting films of that time. I fell during 'Coolie' and there seemed to be a genuine concern from the media over my condition.'' Big B concluded by saying, "Things warmed up a bit after that and today they have all been acknowledged and accepted."
Amitabh Bachchan has had a great rapport with the media after the incident and has been winning the hearts of everyone. Infact, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions to the arts. The Government of France honoured him with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007 for his exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond.
