How Many Movies Has Amitabh Bachchan Really Starred In? Spoiler: It's A Lot!

Summary

• Amitabh Bachchan's career spans 55 years.
• During this time, he has played more than two hundred roles.
• However, he is not the most prolific actor in India.

The 81-year-old Amitabh Bachchan is a living legend of Bollywood, beloved not only in India but also in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and Russia. His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, is a classic of Hindi literature, and his mother, Teji Bachchan, was one of the leading social activists of her time. Today, almost everyone in the family is known for their contributions to Indian pop culture and even politics: Amitabh's wife Jaya Bachchan is a Hindi and Bengali-speaking actress and former member of parliament; daughter Shweta is a columnist and model; and son Abhishek is a famous actor, producer and, of course, husband to the incomparable Aishwarya Rai.

But today we are going to talk specifically about the patriarch of the Bachchan family, as Amitabh has made an incredible contribution to the development of not only Hindi language films, but also world cinema as such. His career started way back in 1969 and in these long 55 years, Amitabh Bachchan has appeared in an incredible number of movies and TV shows.

Let's find out how many movies Amitabh Bachchan has starred in.

Amitabh Bachchan Is One of the Most Prolific Bollywood Actors

Zanjeer, Deewaar, Don, Sarkar, Piku, Gulabo Sitabo are just a few of the Hindi movies that Amitabh Bachchan has acted in. For such an accomplished acting career in Bollywood, he has managed to acquire an incredible number of various awards and nominations, including many civilian awards from the government and honorary doctorates from several Indian universities. Amazingly, the actor has received 70 nominations and 240 awards.

Amitabh Bachchan's acting credits are about the same number of awards. From his acting debut in the 1969 film Saat Hindustani till 2024, he has played an astonishing 249 roles in films and TV shows!

His latest role is in the Telugu epic sci-fi movie Kalki 2898 AD. Also, the Tamil language movie Vettaiyan will be released on October 31, 2024 with him. In other words, Amitabh Bachchan's fame has long gone outside Bollywood and has spread all over India and beyond.

For the record, despite his huge contribution to cinema, Bachchan has only been part of a Hollywood movie once. That was Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby in 2013, in which he played Meyer Wolfsheim, a character of Jewish origin.

Amitabh Bachchan's Net Worth in 2024

Of course, such colossal fame, a brief political career, and all sorts of business ventures have brought him fabulous wealth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, his fortune is estimated at $400 million, making him one of the richest actors not only in Bollywood, but in India as a whole.

Interestingly, the future Bollywood star was paid just $82 for his debut role as Muslim poet Anwar Ali in Saat Hindustani. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $4,500 in 2024 — probably not a bad sum for a 27-year-old getting his first big movie role, but it's nothing compared to the heights Amitabh Bachchan eventually reached.

These Actors Have Had Even More Roles!

Although Amitabh Bachchan's contribution to cinema is undeniable, he is not really the most prolific actor compared to some other Indian stars. For example, Shakti Kapoor, who started his acting journey just 5 years later, has managed to act in more than 700 movies, though his fame (and certainly his net worth, estimated at $30 million) is not comparable to Bachchan's.

The same can be said of Brahmanandam, a renowned actor and comedian who works mainly in the Telugu language. He started his career even later, in 1985, but — you won't believe it — has played more than 1000 roles, making him a Guinness World Record holder!