Amitabh Bachchan turns 80 today. His popularity is as towering as his real-life personality. Celebrations of Amitabh Bachchan’s 80th birthday have taken on a festival-like atmosphere. A crowd of fans had gathered outside his bungalow Jalsa on Monday night to wish him at midnight. Big B did not disappoint his fans and stepped out to greet them while a video of his midnight rendezvous with fans is going viral on the internet. Shweta Bachchan was seen accompanying her father to the event.
Here are a few lesser-known facts about the true megastar of the Hindi Film Fraternity.
1. Amitabh Bachchan is lovingly referred to as Big B and Shahenshah of Bollywood. But you should know that the actor was christened Inquilaab Srivastava at birth. The veteran actor had also revealed that his last name ‘Bachchan’ was his father and legendary poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poetic nom de plume. The Bachchan surname stuck to him because his father opposed the caste system, which was evident in their surname.
2. Jalsa is Amitabh Bachchan’s plush home and is loved by his fans all over the world who visit him on Sundays. The producer of the 1982 film Satte Pe Satta, NC Sippy, gifted his property to Amitabh Bachchan after the success of Satte Pe Satta. Many movies like Chupke Chupke, Anand, and Namak Haram were shot in this very bungalow.
3. Amitabh Bachchan has many talents. In addition to his entertaining acting and humanitarian endeavors, he’s ambidextrous too. Big B is a very talented writer. Apart from writing with both hands, he also pens handwritten letters and sends them to his loved ones. He appreciates every actor’s hard work by sending them signed messages.
4. He’s one of the highest-paid actors in the industry, but before he became successful, he was just a worker in a shipping firm. His first job was in Calcutta, where he worked as an executive at Shaw & Wallace and as a freight broker for Bird & Co. His first salary was around 500 rupees per month.