The Days of the 'Angry Young Man'
Amitabh Bachchan was on a roll. Everything he touched spelled success. He got the best films, best-written parts, best-composed songs, best heroines.
1978 saw AB play a modern-day Devdas in Prakash Mehra's Muqqadar Ka Sikander. While his ladylove (played by Raakhee) failed to recognise his intense smitten side, the audiences made no mistake. Arch rival Vinod Khanna, with all his dynamism, chiseled cleft and girl in tow, was left high and dry as Bachchan walked away with all the audience sympathy. His successful pairing with Rekha, looking gorgeous as the unrequited Zohrabai, only helped his case. A musical bonanza, the love quadrangle went on to do bright business at the box office.
Bachchan has always rocked in confrontation scenes. Be it the legendary bhai vs bhai scenes of Deewar or baap vs beta scenes of Shakti. In Yash Chopra's Trishul also, he found his match in a battle of arrogance, wits and self-respect in the intimidating persona of Sanjeev Kumar. From a penniless youngster trying to prove a point to a conceited, veteran businessman to a flourishing tycoon who has achieved that aim, AB with his simmering aggression demonstrated the versatility of his anger to his faithful audience.
Bachchan took a break from playing lovelorn and jilted to become the stylish, maverick, iconic hero of first-time director Chandra Barot in Don. His cool and crazy antics, prominently exhibited in heavy-duty Salim-Javed one-liners and catchy Kalyanji-Anandji songs, were a clear winner. Definitely good enough to spawn a remake 28 years down the line.
Also read: Chandra Barot on the real Don
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