Amitabh Bachchan was born in the city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh on the evening of 11 October 1942. His father’s name is Mr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan and his mother’s name is Teji Bachchan. He has a brother 5 years younger than him, whose name is ‘Ajitabh’.
Amitabh’s father Shri Harivansh Rai was one of the famous poets of the 20th century and his mother also used to be interested in poems. Both were teachers in the same college. The biggest thing about her mother is that she was a firm friend of Indira Gandhi.
Bachchan was born in a nursing home. At the time of his birth, one of his neighbors ‘ poet Sumitranandan Pant ‘ came to see him. Pointing to the newborn (Amitabh), he said to his father Harivanshrai, ‘Look at how calm you look, as if Dhyanastha Amitabh’. Then Harivansh Rai and his wife Teji named their son Amitabh, which means – ‘one with infinite talent’.
With the passage of time, Amitabh started being called ‘Amit’ in the house. His mother used to call him ‘Munna’.
Before Amitabh’s name was fixed as ‘Amitabh’, his father had named him ‘Inquilab Rai’. This name was suggested to him by one of his friends Amarnath Jha in view of the atmosphere of freedom struggle of the country.
He began his career in films in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen’s ‘Bhuvan Shome’. Director Satyajit Ray also used Bachchan’s voice in his 1977 film ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’. Though Bachchan is now famous for his baritone, among other things, he was once rejected by All India Radio.
During his initial days of struggle, he was given shelter by Mehmood who offered him a place to stay-at in his home.
He’s a superstar for a reason! At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie ‘Aks’.
On 31 October 2006, he recorded 23 scenes in 5 hours for ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’.
Bachchan was the first Indian actor to be paid over Rs 1 crore in remuneration for films. Till the 1990s, he was the only star paid in crores.
In 1969, he was reportedly engaged to a British Airways air hostess. Her name was Maya.
No ordinary man! He is the first living Asian to have a wax model displayed at Madame Tussaud’s in London in June 2000. Later in 2009, another wax model was displayed in New York, in 2011 in Hong Kong and Bangkok, in 2012 in Washington DC and in 2017 in Delhi.
Before setting the silver screen on fire, Bachchan was a former stage actor, radio announcer, and freight company executive in Calcutta, India.
Becoming an actor wasn’t always the dream. Rather, he wanted to join the Indian Air Force and also thought of becoming an engineer.
He’s ambidextrous. Yes, the actor can write equally well with both his hands.
His stardom is not limited to the country. Bachchan was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of Charles Chaplin, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Marlon Brando.
