Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome. Thereafter he got his first acting role as one of the seven protagonists in Saat Hindustani. He won his first National Film Award for Best Newcomer.

Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. Director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film Zanjeer (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the "angry young man" of Bollywood cinema.

He earned a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. 1973 was also the year he married Jaya and around this time they appeared in several films together, not only in Zanjeer but in films such as Abhimaan which followed and was released only a month after their marriage. Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram in the film Namak Haraam. His supporting role won him his second Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film Deewar, which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4. 1975 was Sholay (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India.

Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including four National Film Awards, three of which are in the Best Actor category, and fourteen Filmfare Awards. He is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 36 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter, and was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987.