Amitabh Bachchan the 'Perfect Teacher' of Bollywood: Chupke Chupke to Brahmastra

The significance of Teacher's day is to honour the person who taught/teaches valuable life lessons that helped to become knowledgeable and wise. Since ages, the stature of the Guru remains higher, even before the Gurukul system. Even Bollywood is no way behind in showing the importance of a teacher in a person's life. 

While several actors have left their marks in people's minds with their influencing character portrayal, only a few lead actors are remembered even after years. Above all those actors, Millennium Star Amitabh Bachchan stands tall in all ways. 

The living legend is looked upon by many existing, established and struggling actors as an inspiration and as a Guru by many. 

Probably, there is no character left that has not been brought by Big B onto the silver screen. Even today's actors very proudly follow the footprints of the legend for which a hint of Bachchan can be seen in almost every actor including the general public. Recently, south actor Jr NTR also showered praises for Big B and said, "He really created a mark on me as an actor."

 
The influence of a good teacher cannot be erased and Big B has proven it time and again throughout his career, that spans over five decades. He has left a trail of iconic performances throughout his acting career, even as a teacher. Right from Chupke Chupke to his upcoming Brahmastra.

Turning the pages of history, here we bring a breakdown of such iconic performances in which Big B came onscreen as a teacher.

Chupke Chupke- Big B portrayed the character of Sukumar Sinha in 1975's Chupke Chupke as a professor of English literature. However, later he temporarily acted as Professor Parimal Tripathi, a Botany professor. Sukumar posing as Parimal taught Botany to Vasudha (Jaya Bachchan). However, during his session, he unintentionally brought a blend of literature into Botany. The sequences certainly tickled the funny bones of many.

Desh Premee- 1982's Desh Premee, though was a moderate, Big B was seen in a dual role. While he played the young character of Raju, he also played the role of Master Dinanath. As Master Dinanath, apart from being a freedom fighter, he also used to teach children. More of his freedom fighter nature was visible in his character in the movie.

Mohabbatein- 2000's romantic drama flick Mohabbatein is remembered as a thumping comeback movie for Amitabh Bachchan. Though the movie was based on the love life of 6 youngsters, along with Shah Rukh Khan, Big B played a major role that paved his way towards winning back the hearts of movie lovers. As the dean of Gurukul, Narayan Shankar came up with a rude but influencing character with deep morals. 
 
Black- Next it was 'Black' in which Big B was seen as an elderly alcoholic teacher, Debraj. While Rani Mukerji took away all the praises for her stellar performance in the movie as a deaf and blind person, with fewer skills in speaking. Debraj came across several hurdles, but he took it upon himself to build Michelle (Rani) into a person who can express and communicate. Performances of both the actors were beyond anything which earned them accolades including the National Film Awards. Of course, the movie carved out a beautiful bond between a teacher and his student.

Darna Zaroori Hai- Darna Zaroori Hai is another movie that was released in 2006 in which Amitabh portrayed the character of a professor. Though not so influential as a teacher, his on-screen performance in the horror thriller anthology film was certainly appreciable.

Aarakshan- Though Aarakshan's plot was based on caste-based reservations, Amitabh played an influential role as a teacher and mentor of Saif Ali Khan (Deepak) in the 2008's movie. 

Syeraa Narasimha Reddy- Big B stepped into the character of a Guru of Chiranjeevi in Syeraa Narasimha Reddy. Though it was a cameo, he came up on the screen as the teacher of Chiranjeevi in combat and philosophy.

Jhund- The recent movie Jhund showcased Amitabh as a football coach. In the movie, he makes a football team of children from a slum. The film received extremely positive reviews from critics praising the performances of the ensemble cast and the social message it carried. As a sports teacher, Big B nailed his character as always and kept the slum children off drugs and crime. He turned them into football players and build a team. 

Brahmastra- Now, his upcoming movie Brahmastra will be releasing in a few days. The movie which also stars Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Nagarjuna with Mouni Roy and SRK, is a fantasy adventure movie scheduled to release on Sept 9. As the trailer, teaser and songs show, Big B is playing a major role in the movie as the Guru of Ranbir aka Shiv. Also, apart from being the leader of Brahmānsh, he wields Prabhāstra. Indeed, it will be a treat for fans of the legend to watch him in action once again.

Even his character in Do Aur Do Paanch can't be ignored. Though he played the character of a burglar, he had to fake his identity and turned into a PE teacher in the 1978 movie. After stepping in as a teacher, the comic scenes tickled the funny bones of many. His enmity with Shashi Kapoor and taking the baddies into tasks after a change of heart was quite entertaining.

The best teacher ever ... in the best film on teachers 😀 #TeachersDay @SrBachchan pic.twitter.com/9mRPXUbCRp

— Moses Sapir (@MosesSapir) September 4, 2022

To date, Amitabh has portrayed several characters in which, though not a teacher, he taught several life lessons, to the onscreen baddies with his punches, kicks and dialogues. Even the audience has enjoyed a lot throughout these years. While Big B will soon turn 80 years old, fans and movie lovers still have high hopes from the legendary actor.