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

Some Lesser Known Facts About Amitabh Bachchan

• His forefathers belonged to the village- Babupatti of Pratapgarh District in Uttar Pradesh.

• His mother, Teji Bachchan, was a Sikh and hailed from Lyallpur (now, in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan).

• His father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a renowned Hindi Poet.

• Initially, he was named- ‘Inquilab,’ but after the suggestion of Sumitranandan Pant (a fellow poet of Harivansh Rai Bachchan), it was changed to ‘Amitabh,’ which means- ‘The light that will never die.’
  

  Amitabh Bachchan in his childhood

• Although his real surname is ‘Srivastava,’ his father replaced it with ‘Bachchan, because his father Harivansh Rai abandoned the surname ‘Shrivastava’ to protest against the caste system in India.

• His mother had interest in theatres and was even offered a feature film role, which she denied later and preferred her domestic duties.

• During his college days, he used to act in plays.
  

  A picture of a play starring Amitabh Bachchan during his college days

• When he was young, he wanted to become an engineer and was eager to join the Indian Air Force.

• During his college days, he was a good athlete and won the 100, 200 and 400-metre races. At the Sherwood in Nainital, he also won a Boxing Championship.

• In 1983, his left hand was burnt during Diwali.

• Amitabh, known for his Baritone voice, was once rejected by All India Radio.

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

  Amitabh Bachchan gave his voice in Bhuvan Shome

• For his role as a doctor in the 1971 film- Anand, he got his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

• He shared the screen with his future wife Jaya Bhaduri for the first time in the film- Guddi (1971); in which he made a guest appearance.
  

  Amitabh Bachchan with Jaya Bachchan in Guddi

• Amitabh met Jaya’s father for the first time in 1972. He reportedly was impressed with Amitabh because of his height and deep voice.

• He rose to stardom after the 1973 film- Zanjeer by Prakash Mehra; in which he played the role of Inspector Vijay Khanna. This film gave him the nickname- Angry Young Man, his performance in the film is also considered one of the most iconic performances in the history of Bollywood.
  

  Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer

• Before the success of ‘Zanjeer,’ he was a part of 12 consecutive flop films.

• Amitabh shared a close bond with late actor Mehmood Ali who used to call him Danger Diabolic. While remembering Mehmood Ali on his eighth death anniversary in July 2012, Amitabh said,
  

  Mehmood Bhai was among the early contributors to my career graph, he having faith from day one in me, much against the wishes and comments of naysayers. For some peculiar reason he would address me as Danger Diabolic, and was the first producer to give me a lead role ? Bombay to Goa, a remake of a Tamil hit ‘Madras to Pondicherry.”

  

  Amitabh Bachchan With Mehmood Ali

• Reportedly, he was paid Rs. 1 lakh for his role of Jai in the iconic Indian film- Sholay (1975). 
  

  Amitabh Bachchan in Sholay

  

  Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan during the filming of Sholay

• On 26 July 1982, he suffered a near-fatal injury while filming Coolie at the University Campus in Bangalore. He was also declared clinically dead for 11 minutes by the doctors till they plunged adrenaline injections into his chest saving his life.

• After the Coolie incident, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis (a long-term neuromuscular disease that leads to varying degrees of muscle weakness).

• In 2017, during one of the episodes of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC), he spoke about his tryst with Hepatitis B. He said that he had lost 75% of his liver due to late diagnosis of the disease, which he contracted through a blood transfusion after the Coolie accident. He also said that he was infected with Tuberculosis (TB) on the set of KBC in 2000. However, after proper treatment, he is now free from Tuberculosis (TB). Amitabh was also appointed the UNICEF ambassador of the hepatitis B awareness campaign.

• In 1984, he took a break from acting and entered politics to support his friend Rajiv Gandhi. He also contested for the Allahabad seat in the 8th Lok Sabha elections against H.N. Bahuguna and won with the highest victory margin in the history of the general elections (68.2% of the vote).
  

  Amitabh Bachchan Campaigning During The 8th Lok Sabha Elections

• After 3 years in politics, he resigned, calling politics a cesspool.

• Reportedly, when his company- ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation) failed, his friend, Amar Singh, had helped him financially, following which, Amitabh started to support Amar Singh and his party- Samajwadi Party.

• He won his First National Film Award for the Best Actor for his role as a Mafia Don in the 1990 film- Agneepath.
  

• After the box-office failure of his film- Insaniyat (1994), he didn’t appear in any film for 5 years.

• In 1996, he formed his film production company- Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL). ABCL was also the main sponsor of the 1996 Miss World beauty pageant at Bangalore but lost millions.

• His career and fame were revived in 2000 when he made his television debut with a game show- Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
  

• In June 2000, he became the First living Asian whose statue was modelled at the London’s Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
  

  Amitabh Bachchan’s wax statue at the Madame Tussauds, London

• He had a pet dog, Shanouk, who died in June 2013 after a brief illness. It was a Piranha Dane dog, one of the world’s tallest dog breeds. ^[12]Hindustan Times
  

  Amitabh Bachchan with his pet dog, Shanouk

• He can write evenly well with both of his hands.
  

  Amitabh Bachchan Writing

• In 2017, All Bengal Amitabh Bachchan Fans’ Association unveiled the life-size statue of Mr. Bachchan in Tiljala, a neighbourhood of South Kolkata. Crafted by Subrata Bose, the statue has given Bachchan’s ‘Sarkar’ avatar. ^[13]The Times of India
  

  Amitabh Bachchan’s Temple in Tiljala, Kolkata

• On 24 September 2019, the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced through a tweet that Mr. Bachchan would be conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The award came in the year that marked Mr. Bachchan’s golden jubilee in cinema since his debut in 1969 with Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Saat Hindustani. Interestingly, the Dadasaheb Phalke award itself was first presented in the year of Mr. Bachchan’s debut. It was introduced by the government in 1969 to commemorate the “father of Indian cinema” who directed Raja Harischandra (1913), India’s first feature film, and it was awarded for the first time to Devika Rani, “the first lady of Indian cinema.”

• When a KBC contestant asked him about his real name, he shared an interesting story behind his name. He said, during Quit India Movement in 1942 (his birth year), people used to organize rallies. His mother Teji Bachchan who was eight-month pregnant at that time joined one of the rallies. Unable to find her at the house, the family members got worried and searched for her at the rally. When they brought her back, one of Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s friends joked about Teji Bachchan’s patriotism and said that the baby (Amitabh Bachchan) should be named Inquilab. He added that later his father’s close friend Sumitra Nandan Pant, who visited the family on the same day Big B was born, came up with the name Amitabh.

• In April 2020, he shared a throwback picture on his social media account, reminiscing his first photo-shoot for a film magazine – ‘Star & Style.’
  

  Amitabh Bachchan’s Post About His First Photo Shoot For a Magazine

• On 11 July 2020, he was tested positive for COVID-19 and had been admitted to the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. The actor announced the news on his Twitter handle.

T 3590 -I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests , results awaited ..
All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 11, 2020

• The megastar often campaigns against smoking and drinking habits. Although he used to smoke and drink, he quit both habits in the early 1980s. In a blog post that he shared in April 2023 on social media, he talked about his smoking and drinking habits. He wrote,
  

  When in job in the City of Joy, the natural curriculum seemed to be in line with that phrase ‘social drinking’ .. I shall not deny the consumption of it, but its reason or resolve in leaving for years and years now, I shall not deliberate .. it is a personal choice and demeanour .. yes I do not .. but why the announce of it.”

  He added,

  As is the case with the cigarette .. in abundance in the years of free, and the sudden and immediate resolve to leave it .. and the way to leave is really quite simple .. chuck that glass of the intoxicant , while in the middle of it and crush the ‘ciggi’ on your lips at the same time and .. sayonara .. the very best way to be in riddance .. not some part time exigencies to stop the use .. its the removal of the cancer at once .. done at the rush of a stroke .. the more the dwindling , the greater the undesired habit of remaining.” ^[14]India Today

T 2441 – #WorldNoTobaccoDay – 31 May 2017, "Tobacco – a threat to development." .. I left smoking almost 35 years ago ..!! Will you ? pic.twitter.com/V9rbD7hcrF

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) May 30, 2017

• On 25 November 2022, the Delhi High Court issued an interim order restraining persons at large from infringing the personality and publicity rights of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan after the actor approached the court to request an omnibus order protecting his name, image, voice, or any of his characteristics without his consent in any way or form. While representing Mr. Bachchan in court, lawyer Harish Salve, in the suit of over 900 pages, said,
  

  Someone is using his picture and selling lottery while the other person is using his voice for mobile app. One is using his image to sell G.K. books. I am giving you an idea that what is going on.” ^[15]The Hindu

• In an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 15, Amitabh Bachchan shared a story from his family’s history. He recounted the challenges his parents, Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan, faced due to their inter-caste marriage, particularly when they arrived in Allahabad, where such marriages were deemed unacceptable at the time. Despite the societal resistance, Sarojini Naidu, an ardent admirer of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, emerged as a pillar of support during that phase. Naidu also introduced them to Jawaharlal Nehru by saying “meet the poet and his poetry.” ^[16]The Times of India Amitabh Bachchan said,
  

  I am getting a little hesitant to say this but she was also a big fan of my babuji. My babuji had done an intercaste marriage. My maataji Teji was from a Sikh family and when we lived in Allahabad over there gettting married in a different caste was called a sin during that time. So during that time, people fought against my father when he took my mother to Allahabad. So Sarojini Naidu was the first person who consoled him. She introduced him to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who used to live in Anand Bavan in Allahabad. I still remember the way she had introduced my father. She said, ‘meet the poet and his poetry.’

• In March 2024, he reportedly underwent an angioplasty at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai; however, the actor called it ‘fake news’ when a paparazzo asked him about his health while he was attending the finale of the Indian Street Premier League in Mumbai. ^[17]Hindustan Times

• In an interview in September 2024, Simi Garewal disclosed that Amitabh Bachchan had denied his rumoured relationship with Rekha on her show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. He mentioned that they only occasionally met at social functions and had nothing in common. When she asked Rekha about it, she called it a “dumb question” and denied ever being in a relationship with him.

• In October 2024, actor Aamir Khan shared Amitabh and Jaya’s marriage invitation card in a Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) episode.
  

  A photo of Amitabh and Jaya’s marriage card