On Amitabh Bachchan's 80th Birthday, 80 Facts About the Shahenshah of Bollywood

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMITABH BACHCHAN: Amitabh Bachchan is a legendary actor who has been creating magic on the big screen since 1969. He is not just a star but also a television personality, playback singer, and former politician. He has given numerous outstanding performances and is widely considered as one of the iconic stars in the Hindi cinema industry. In his career spanning 5 decades, he has nailed versatile roles. He also gained an angry young man image. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, we share with you with 80 little-known facts about the actor.

1. Growing up, Amitabh Bachchan aspired to be an engineer and join the Indian Air Force.
2. Amitabh Bachchan can write just as proficiently with either hand as he is ambidextrous.
3. He was born Inquilaab. His name was later changed to Amitabh.
4. Amitabh Bachchan’s father chose the pen name “Bachchan” for him, in reality, his last name is Shrivastava.
5. Amitabh Bachchan, who is renowned for having a spiritual ideology, takes time out of his heavy workload each year to go barefoot from his Juhu house to the Siddhivinayak temple to get Lord Ganesha’s blessings.
6. Amitabh has a strong passion for collecting pens and watches.
7. His younger brother Ajitabh, who persuaded Big B to enter Bollywood, was the photographer of the portfolios Amitabh Bachchan had initially given to filmmakers.
8. Amitabh Bachchan’s first salary was of Rs 500. His job was in Kolkata.
9. When Big B worked in Kolkata, he used to live with eight other individuals in one room.
10. In the process of filming Coolie (1983), Big B suffered a near-fatal accident.
11. The Press Trust of India published daily briefings on his condition at the time he was being treated in a hospital following the Coolie accident.
12. On the Coolie set, after the mistimed punch by actor Puneet Issar, Amitabh first bowed to the entire cast and crew for a beautiful shot before collapsing in agony outside a few minutes later.
13. While in the hospital in 1982, Amitabh Bachchan wrote his first poem. Since the magazine’s editor, Dr Dharamvir Bharati, was a close family friend of the Bachchans, the poem was accepted for publication in Dharamyug.
14. Vijay is Amitabh Bachchan’s favourite on-screen name. He has portrayed the role of Vijay more than 20 times. It’s interesting that Vijay was the name of his first boss.
15. Vijay, Amitabh Bachchan’s boss, once advised him to leave work early since the latter had told him he had a theatre performance that day. To Vijay’s disappointment, Amitabh was just in charge of the curtains when he and his wife went to witness the show.
16. During the filming of Khuda Gawah (1992), Amitabh was provided security by half of Afghanistan’s air force. The film was among the most viewed Indian movies in Afghanistan at that time.
17. In 1973, following the success of Zanjeer, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan) decided to take a vacation overseas. When Amitabh’s father learned of the plan, he advised them to get married first then take a holiday together. That’s how Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya got married.
18. After dating for some time, Big B married Jaya Bhaduri in 1973. Supporters of their affair included famed yesteryear actor Nadira and their common guru Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
19. During his difficult period, Amitabh Bachchan frequently visited a fuel station in Mumbai. He fuelled up his car early in the morning on the day Anand (1971) was released. When he came for more fuel that evening, everyone around recognised him.
20. Big B reportedly owns over 7 luxurious cars. His favourite car is a Lexus that is impervious to bullets.
21. Amitabh Bachchan’s rich baritone prompted All India Radio to reject his job application. He failed the tests there in both Hindi and English.
22. Amitabh Bachchan portrayed the role of Cassio in the Hindi production of Othello, in which his mother Teji Bachchan played the role of Desdemona’s maid. The play was translated into Hindi by Amitabh’s father and poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
23. After his comeback film Mrityudaata, the nickname Big B was established sometime in the late 1990s.
24. Amitabh Bachchan received Rs 1,000 for his debut film, which was passed on to him by actor-director Tinnu Anand, who went on to become a lifelong friend.
25. Amitabh Bachchan finds it uncomfortable when people refer to him as a ­superstar or bombard him with praises. He is modest and wishes to be referred to as an actor.
26. Amitabh Bachchan finds it objectionable when people refer to the Hindi film business as Bollywood.
27. Big B established Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited in 1995, three years into his acting sabbatical. The new business incurred losses, prompting him to return to acting to pay off substantial business liabilities.
28. Amitabh Bachchan spent a few nights on a bench in Mumbai’s Marine Drive during his struggle days. Each time he passes the bench while driving, he cherishes those days.
29. As a result of a letter of recommendation from the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Sunil Dutt’s wife Nargis, the late actor-filmmaker signed him for a mute character in Reshma Aur Shera (1972).
30. Big B graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, with a double major in Science and Arts.
31. For his services in the field of arts, Amitabh Bachchan received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.
32. The French government bestowed upon him the highest civilian honour – Knight of the Legion of Honour.
33. His laptop and mobile device are two items that he simply cannot manage without. He enjoys staying connected with the world.
34. Amitabh Bachchan delivered the narration for the 2001 film Lagaan.
35. Amitabh avoids beverages such as tea and coffee and also does not indulge in smoking and is also a vegetarian.
36. Amitabh Bachchan doesn’t know how to cook. He attempted to prepare an omelette when residing in New York, but he failed at it miserably.
37. Big B hardly gets angry in real life. He only displays anger when his job requires it.
38. He enjoys writing blogs. He writes a blog practically every night before going to bed.
39. Street food is something that both Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek enjoy.
40. He enjoys picking up new languages, particularly Indian. He has rudimentary knowledge of Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Marathi.
41. Amitabh Bachchan firmly thinks that learning should never stop and has expressed an interest in learning Italian, German, French, and Russian.
42. Amitabh Bachchan’s mentor in his days of struggle was the late comedian Mehmood, who provided him a place to reside at his own home.
43. Big B served as one of the judges at Miss World beauty pageant in 1995.
44. Big B had 12 flops in a row before his first big hit, Zanjeer, which could have been his last film if Zanjeer had tanked.
45. Big B likes to provide each one of his tweet specific numbers.
46. Amitabh is likely the only actor who has portrayed the role of a son to his real son in the film Paa (2009), wherein Abhishek plays the character of Amitabh’s father.
47. Amitabh Bachchan suffered from asthma and Myasthenia Gravis, a rare muscular disorder.
48. He purchased a used Fiat as his first car in Kolkata.
49. Compared to other actors, Amitabh Bachchan has performed in more double roles. He even had a ­triple role in the 1983 film Mahaan.
50. Big B is the inspiration for the appearance of the Indian comic book character Supremo.
51. In his 1977 film Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Satyajit Ray used Amitabh Bachchan’s voice.
52. His first dog was a Silky Sydney, whom he adored but sadly lost.
53. Amitabh met Jaya for the first time at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, and then again on the set of Guddi (1971).
54. Amitabh Bachchan currently holds the record for best actor nominations for popular film awards.
55. Bachchan was initially considered for Shashi Kapoor’s role in Utsav (1984) and Jackie Shroff’s role in King Uncle.
56. Amitabh Bachchan accepted Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000 only when he thought his career in movies was over.
57. Amitabh Bachchan is the only actor to play both a hero and a villain in a remake of his own movie. Sholay was the original film, and Aag was the remake (2007).
58. His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan wrote the song Rang Barse for Silsila and some lyrics from Alaap.
59. At the premiere of Planet Hollywood, Hollywood actor Bruce Willis remarked that Amitabh Bachchan was “bigger than any Hollywood celebrity.”
60. He approached late filmmaker Yash Chopra and requested a project in the year 2000 when he was bereft of any work. That was when he was offered Mohabbatein (2000).
61. Big B stunned the crew of the movie Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007) on October 31, 2006, by filming 23 scenes in 5 hours.
62. Amitabh Bachchan’s bungalows Pratiksha and Jalsa are reported to be valued at Rs. 160 crores each.
63. Jalsa was gifted to the actor by director Ramesh Sippy in lieu of remuneration for his performance in the 1982 film Satte Pe Satte.
64. Amitabh Bachchan likes wearing suits and favours the brand Gabbana. For the past 30 years, they have been crafting his suits. The cloth, thread, and buttons are all specifically imported from Italy, France, and England respectively.
65. Shweta and Abhishek, Big B’s children, once requested that he avoid visiting their school when they were small since his celebrity profile created too much disturbance.
66. Amitabh Bachchan always chooses to stay at St James Court in London, which is close to Buckingham Palace.
67. According to ad pundits, a company once paid Big B Rs. 10 crores for 10 days. This equates to Rs. 7,000 every minute, stated media reports.
68. Amitabh Bachchan has only appeared in one black-and-white film Saat Hindustani (1969) which was also his debut.
69. Amitabh Bachchan was granted the honour of carrying the Olympic torch during the final leg of its relay in London’s Southwark in July 2012.
70. He made his Hollywood debut in 2013’s The Great Gatsby, co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
71. Rajiv Gandhi and Amitabh Bachchan got along well and held each other in high regard.
72. Amitabh Bachchan entered politics and won the Allahabad seat in the 8th Lok Sabha, however, he chose not to continue his political career.
73. Amitabh Bachchan was the first star from Bollywood to have a wax statue displayed in London’s prestigious Madame Tussauds Museum.
74. He leapt from a height of 30 feet with co-star Manoj Bajpayee for his 2001 film Aks at the age of 58.
75. He was also named BBC’s ‘Star of the Millennium’ after outvoting superstars such as Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando, and Laurence Olivier.
76. Amitabh Bachchan was the first Indian actor to receive a pay-check for a movie that exceeded Rs 1 crore. He was the only celebrity who received payments in crores until the 1990s.
77. His iconic song Khaike Paan Banaras Wala was never intended to be included in the film Don. The song was originally penned for the Dev Anand movie Banarasi Babu.
78. Big B disclosed that he is currently surviving on only 25% of his liver.
79. During his peak acting years, Stardust and other magazines enforced a 15-year press embargo on Amitabh Bachchan. The first story about him wasn’t published until 15 years later, following his horrific accident.
80. Amitabh made his debut in the Malayalam film industry with the 2010 film Kandahar, co-starring Mohanlal

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