For all cinema lovers like me, today is an important day. It is the 80th birthday of the real Shahenshah of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan. I think there is hardly anyone in the country who doesn’t know him. The most admirable thing about Mr Bachchan is his ability to reinvent himself. In the years gone by, I have noticed his highs and lows in the world of cinema. As the GoodBye star celebrates his birthday today, here’s a look at lesser known facts about the legend.
But before going further, here’s a look at the trailer of his recent release, GoodBye:
- Amitabh was named Inquilab Shrivastava, he was born in British-ruled India to renowned poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan on 11th October 1942, in Allahabad. His name was later changed to Amitabh and he adopted his father`s pen name “Bachchan” as his surname.
- The megastar has played ‘Vijay’ more than 20 times. In fact, it is also his favorite onscreen name. Zanjeer was the first film, where he played Vijay.
- Big B is an avid collector of watches and pens. He has tens of thousands of pens in his collection. Interestingly, every year on his birthday, the German company Mont Blanc gives him a unique pen as a present.
- The megastar is ambidextrous. He can use both of his hands efficiently.
- We all know that the actor had suffered a life threatening injury at the time of filming Coolie. Prior to that day he received a phone call from Smita Patil at midnight, asking about his fitness. Smita had a sinking feeling after watching a dream in which Amitabh was injured. Amitabh told her that he was fine, the next day he was injured near critically on the sets of Coolie.
- The actor had played a triple role in a film called Mahaan in 1983. The movie is an official remake of the 1978 Kannada film Shankar Guru.
- People started calling him Big B after he made a comeback with the 1997 film Mrityudata.
- Mr. Bachchan is the first Asian actor to get a wax statue at Madame Tussauds in London.
- He got his Mumbai home, Jalsa, as a gift from producer N C Sippy for his performance in Satte Pe Satta. Films like Chupke Chupke, Namak Haram and Anand have been shot in his house.
- The actor got his first salary as Rs. 500 when he started working in a shipping firm as an executive in Kolkata.
On behalf of team MissMalini, we wish the actor a very happy birthday!