The Spoken Word

Amitabh Bachchan is India’s greatest ever superstar and I am sure there’s no doubt about it. Here are some inside facts about this man :

• Amitabh Bachchan’s birth name is Amit Shrivastava.
• The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussaud’s in London, UK
• Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.
• His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character name in over 20 movies.
• His father was considering naming him ‘Inquilab’ (which means ‘revolution’) before settling down for Amitabh which means ‘brilliance unlimited’.
• Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree.
• Following a near fatal accident while shooting Coolie (1983), during which he suffered internal bleeding and required 17 bottles of blood, he became a champion for the cause of encouraging more people to donate blood.
• At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie Aks (2001).
• He is the only actor who achieved at least one hit every year for 15 consecutive years – from 1972 in Bombay to Goa (1972) to 1986 in Aakhree Raasta (1986).
• He was closely associated with Indira Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, and her son, Rajiv Gandhi. It was Mrs. Gandhi who wrote a letter of introduction for Amitabh, and that’s how he got his break in Bollywood.
• He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindi film industry.