Amitabh Bachchan Height, Age, Wife, Family, Caste, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Amitabh Bachchan

• He hailed from Babupatti, a village in Pratapgarh District of Uttar Pradesh, where his ancestors resided.

• Teji Bachchan, his mother, originated from Lyallpur (now known as Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan) and belonged to the Sikh community.

• Harivansh Rai Bachchan, his father, achieved great renown as a Hindi Poet.

• At first, he went by the name ‘Inquilab,’ but upon the recommendation of Sumitranandan Pant, a poet colleague of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, it was altered to ‘Amitabh,’ signifying ‘The eternal light.’ In his early years, Amitabh Bachchan was recognized as a youthful Amitabh Bachchan.

• His original surname, ‘Srivastava,’ was replaced by his father with ‘Bachchan’ as a form of protest against the caste system in India, as his father Harivansh Rai had already abandoned the ‘Shrivastava’ surname.

• Despite being offered a feature film role, his mother chose to prioritize her domestic duties over her interest in theatres.

• In his college years, he was actively involved in theater, performing in various plays. A photograph from that time captures Amitabh Bachchan in one of his college plays.

• During his youth, he aspired to pursue a career as an engineer and held a strong desire to enlist in the Indian Air Force.

• In his college years, he excelled as an athlete, triumphing in the 100, 200, and 400-meter races. Additionally, he emerged victorious in the Boxing Championship held at Sherwood in Nainital.

• During Diwali in 1983, his left hand suffered burns.

• All India Radio once rejected Amitabh, despite his renowned Baritone voice.

• Amitabh Bachchan made his film debut as a voice narrator in the National Award winning film “Bhuvan Shome” (1969) by Mrinal Sen before making his acting debut in “Saat Hindustani”.

• He received his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a doctor in the 1971 film, Anand.

• In the film Guddi (1971), Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, who would later become his wife, appeared together on screen for the first time. Amitabh Bachchan made a guest appearance in this iconic film.

• Amitabh Bachchan gained fame and recognition when he starred in the 1973 film “Zanjeer” directed by Prakash Mehra. His portrayal of Inspector Vijay Khanna in the movie earned him the nickname “Angry Young Man” and is still regarded as one of the most legendary performances in Bollywood history.

• Prior to the triumph of ‘Zanjeer,’ he experienced a string of 12 consecutive film failures.

• Amitabh Bachchan and the late actor Mehmood Ali shared a strong bond, with Mehmood affectionately referring to Amitabh as Danger Diabolic. On the eighth anniversary of Mehmood Ali’s passing in July 2012, Amitabh fondly remembered his significant role in shaping his career from the very beginning. Despite skeptics’ negative opinions and remarks, Mehmood always believed in Amitabh’s talent and potential. It is worth mentioning that Mehmood took a leap of faith by offering Amitabh his first leading role in the remake of the Tamil blockbuster “Madras to Pondicherry,” which was titled “Bombay to Goa.”

• It has been reported that he received a payment of Rs. 1 lakh for portraying the character of Jai in the legendary Indian movie Sholay (1975). Amitabh Bachchan, along with Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, and Amjad Khan, were part of the cast during the film’s production.

• He encountered a life-threatening mishap on 26 July 1982 during the shooting of Coolie at the University Campus in Bangalore. Doctors pronounced him clinically deceased for a duration of 11 minutes until they administered adrenaline injections to his chest, ultimately rescuing his life.

• He received a diagnosis of Myasthenia gravis, a chronic neuromuscular disease causing different levels of muscle weakness, following the Coolie incident.

• During an episode of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC) in 2017, Amitabh Bachchan shared his experience with Hepatitis B. He revealed that he had lost 75% of his liver due to a delayed diagnosis of the disease, which he had contracted through a blood transfusion after the Coolie accident. Additionally, he mentioned being infected with Tuberculosis (TB) while on the set of KBC in 2000. However, after receiving proper treatment, he has successfully recovered from Tuberculosis (TB). Amitabh Bachchan was also appointed as the UNICEF ambassador for the hepatitis B awareness campaign.

• During the 1984 period, he temporarily paused his acting career to engage in politics, offering his support to his close companion Rajiv Gandhi. Additionally, he participated in the 8th Lok Sabha elections, competing for the Allahabad seat against H.N. Bahuguna, and emerged victorious with the greatest margin of victory ever recorded in general elections, securing an impressive 68.2% of the vote. Amitabh Bachchan energetically campaigned during the 8th Lok Sabha Elections.

• Having spent 3 years in politics, he decided to step down, referring to the political landscape as a cesspool.

• According to reports, Amitabh Bachchan received financial assistance from his friend Amar Singh after his company, ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation), faced failure. As a result, Amitabh began supporting Amar Singh and his political party, the Samajwadi Party.

• In the film “Agneepath” released in 1990, he received his inaugural National Film Award for Best Actor for portraying a Mafia Don.

• Following the lackluster performance of his movie, Insaniyat (1994), he refrained from making any on-screen appearances for a period of 5 years.

• Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) was established by him in 1996. Additionally, ABCL served as the primary sponsor for the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant held in Bangalore. However, this venture resulted in significant financial losses for the company.

• In 2000, his television debut with the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) marked the revival of his career and brought him fame.

• Amitabh Bachchan became the first living Asian to have his statue replicated at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London in June 2000. The wax figure of Amitabh Bachchan can now be seen at Madame Tussauds in London.

• Hindustan Times reported that Amitabh Bachchan, along with his cherished pet dog named Shanouk, experienced the loss of their beloved Piranha Dane dog in June 2013. Shanouk, being one of the tallest dog breeds globally, passed away after a short illness.

• Amitabh Bachchan possesses equal proficiency in writing with both his hands.

• A life-size statue of Mr. Bachchan, portraying his iconic ‘Sarkar’ avatar, was unveiled in Tiljala, a neighborhood of South Kolkata, by the All Bengal Amitabh Bachchan Fans’ Association in 2017. The Temple in Tiljala, Kolkata is dedicated to Amitabh Bachchan. This information was reported by The Times of India.

• Mr. Bachchan was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award on 24 September 2019 by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar in a tweet. This award holds significance as it coincides with Mr. Bachchan’s golden jubilee in cinema, marking 50 years since his debut in Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Saat Hindustani in 1969. It is interesting to note that the Dadasaheb Phalke award was first presented in the same year as Mr. Bachchan’s debut. Introduced by the government in 1969, this award commemorates the “father of Indian cinema”, who directed Raja Harischandra in 1913, India’s first feature film. The first recipient of this award was Devika Rani, known as “the first lady of Indian cinema.”

• When a KBC contestant inquired about his real name, he shared a fascinating anecdote about its origins. He recounted how, during the Quit India Movement in 1942 (the year of his birth), the populace would organize rallies. His mother, Teji Bachchan, who was eight months pregnant at the time, participated in one of these rallies. Concerned when they couldn’t find her at home, his family anxiously searched for her at the rally. Eventually, they located her and brought her back home. It was during this incident that one of Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s friends playfully remarked on Teji Bachchan’s patriotism, suggesting that the newborn baby (Amitabh Bachchan) be named Inquilab. However, it was his father’s close friend, Sumitra Nandan Pant, who paid a visit to the family on the very day of Big B’s birth, who ultimately bestowed the name Amitabh upon him.

• Amitabh Bachchan reminisced about his first photo shoot for the film magazine ‘Star & Style’ by sharing a throwback picture on his social media account in April 2020. He expressed his experience and shared his thoughts on the memorable event.

• He announced on his Twitter handle that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and had been admitted to the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai on 11 July 2020.

T 3590 – I have received a positive result for COVID-19 and have been admitted to the hospital. The hospital has informed the authorities, and my family and staff have undergone tests. We are currently awaiting the results. Anyone who has been in close contact with me in the past 10 days is kindly requested to get tested as well.

On July 11, 2020, Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) tweeted.

• The megastar frequently advocates against smoking and drinking habits, despite having indulged in them himself in the past. In a blog post shared on social media in April 2023, he discussed his own experiences with these habits. He mentioned that while working in the City of Joy, social drinking was a common practice, and he acknowledged that he had participated in it. However, he chose not to delve into the reasons behind his decision to abstain for many years, considering it a personal choice that reflects his attitude. He explained that he didn’t feel the need to publicly announce it. <br><br>He further compared quitting smoking and drinking to the process of abandoning cigarettes, which were once widely available but suddenly cast aside. He described the quitting process as simple: discard the glass of alcohol, crush the cigarette with your lips, and bid farewell. According to him, this method is the most effective way to completely eliminate the habit rather than attempting temporary cessation. He likened it to removing a cancerous part decisively in one go. He stressed that the longer one delays quitting, the more challenging it becomes to break free from this undesirable habit.

On May 31, 2017, #WorldNoTobaccoDay was observed under the theme “Tobacco – a threat to development.” It has been nearly 35 years since I quit smoking. Will you join me in doing the same? pic.twitter.com/V9rbD7hcrF

On May 30, 2017, Amitabh Bachchan tweeted as @SrBachchan.

• The Delhi High Court issued a temporary order on November 25, 2022, prohibiting individuals from violating the personality and publicity rights of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. This came after the actor approached the court seeking a comprehensive order to safeguard his name, image, voice, and other attributes from unauthorized use without his consent. During the court proceedings, lawyer Harish Salve, representing Mr. Bachchan, highlighted various instances of misuse, such as the unauthorized use of his picture for lottery ticket sales, his voice for a mobile app, and his image for promoting G.K. books. These examples provide a glimpse into the current situation.
• During an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 15, Amitabh Bachchan recounted a story from his family’s past. He shared the challenges that his parents, Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan, faced due to their inter-caste marriage, especially when they moved to Allahabad where such marriages were frowned upon. However, Sarojini Naidu, an avid admirer of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, became a source of support during this difficult phase. Naidu even introduced them to Jawaharlal Nehru, referring to Harivansh Rai Bachchan as “the poet and his poetry.” The Times of India reported Amitabh Bachchan’s words, where he hesitantly revealed that Naidu was also a great admirer of his father, affectionately called “babuji.” He explained that his father’s inter-caste marriage was considered taboo in Allahabad at the time, leading to opposition and hostility. Nonetheless, Sarojini Naidu was the first person to console his father during that challenging period and introduced him to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who resided in Anand Bavan in Allahabad. Amitabh Bachchan vividly remembered Naidu’s introduction, where she referred to his father as “the poet and his poetry.”