Amitabh Bachchan

Biggest Star of 1970s and 1980s in Indian cinema.

He launched a multi-faceted commercial enterprise known simply as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, or ABCL. ABCL is engaged in production, distribution and all other aspects of the entertainment industry. It was the first of its kind attempt at corporatising Entertainment industry in India.

Had a close association with the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi (also Prime Minister) and he was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home town of Allahabad. But his stint in politics did not last long and he was implicated in the infamous Swedish Bofors Gun deal scandal along with Rajiv Gandhi, the U.K. based Hinduja brothers, and others. Later Amitabh Bachchan was cleared of charges of involvement in this scandal as the former Swedish police chief Sten Lindstrom confirmed that Amitabh Bachchans name was planted by the Indian agencies in the Bofors case.

Was one of the judges for the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant.

While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health.

Was a former stage actor, radio announcer and freight company executive in Calcutta, India.

Went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in the hill-station town of Nainital, and from there to Delhi University where he earned a double MA degree.

When he was just trying to get a break in movies he was told to soften his deep voice. However it was soon realised that his deep rich voice was excellent for narration. He has provided narrations for several films.

Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.

Father of actor Abhishek Bachchan and father-in-law of actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Is a vegetarian

Presenter of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Indias version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire

The first Asian actor having a wax model of his likeness displayed at Madame Tussauds in London, UK

The highest paid Indian actor from late 1970s to 1992.

Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charles Chaplin , Sir Laurence Olivier , and Marlon Brando.

Formed a popular screen couple with Rekha

He also sung in many movies such as Laawaris, Toofan and Silsila.

Became a grandfather in 1997 when his daughter Shweta gave birth to a daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda.

Works with the Indian governments media campaign to publicize the National Immunization Days and encourage people to take their children to be vaccinated against polio and other deadly diseases.

Son of celebrated Indian poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan , who passed away in January 2003.

Suffers from asthma.

His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had as his character name in over 20 movies.

His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was considering naming him Inquilab (which means revolution) before settling down for Amitabh which means brilliance unlimited.

On his 61st birthday, he relaunched ABCL as AB Corp. ABCL had to be closed after debts of more than millions of rupees. However, Amitabh has decided to relaunch it with a name change.

Actress Nirupa Roy is mostly cast as his mother and last time she featured was in Lal Baadshah .

Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree.

The facial caricature of the Indian comic book character Supremo is based upon him.

Following a near fatal accident while shooting Coolie (1983/I) , 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.

Singer Sudesh Bhonsle dubs his voice for playback songs in many movies.

At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for his 2001 movie Aks .

In 1996, he released an album called "Aby Baby". This album was released under ABCL and featured songs like "Eer Bir Phatte" and remixes of his songs from his early movies "O Saathi Re" and "Kabhi Kabhi". "Eer Bir Phatte" was inspired by one of his famous dialogues in his movie Aadalat .

In 1984, he was honored by the Indian government with the Padma Shri Award for his outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry.

He played double role in 10 films Aadalat , Don , Kasme Vaade , The Great Gambler , Desh Premee , Satte Pe Satta , Aakhree Raasta , Bade Miyan Chote Miyan , Lal Baadshah and Sooryavansham . Mahaan had him in a triple role.

Won the National Award for Best Newcomer for Saat Hindustani.

He was the original choice to play a role in Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai , which he declined and was finally played by Om Puri

Although Amitabh Bachchans Immaan Dharam proved to be a disaster, the producer went ahead and announced Asmaan with Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, with Mohan Kumar in the directors seat. Salim-Javed, who had penned the script of Immaan Dharam, were scripting Asmaan as well. However, the film was shelved subsequently.

Rakesh Kumar, who had directed Khoon Pasina , Mr. Natwarlal , Do Aur Do Paanch and Yaarana , had turned producer and announced Charlie, with Amitabh Bachchan enacting the title role. Padmini Kolhapure had been cast opposite the Big B. However, the project never got made.

Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar were seen on screen for the first time in Ramesh Sippys Shakti. But much before Shakti happened, Eagle Films had signed Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan for their new project, which was to be directed by Yash Chopra. However, the project did not materialize subsequently.

In 1976 Amitabh Bachchan was to star in Manoj Kumars Naya Bharat, alongside Amitabh it was also supposed to star Manoj Kumar, Hema Malini, Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman and Rishi Kapoor. The film was shelved subsequently.

Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Mithun Chakraborty and Rati Agnihotri were teamed in Tala Chabi, produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Raj N. Sippy. One of the foremost character actors then, Pran, had been signed to enact the main villains role. An official announcement was made in April 1982. The movie never took off.

Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to play one of the lead roles in Shashi Kapoors Utsav however; Amitabh opted out of the film. Shashi Kapoor replaced him.

Amitabh Bachchan was the first choice of Rakesh Roshans King Uncle . But since the actor wasnt signing films then, Roshan opted for Jackie Shroff.

Prakash Mehra was planning on making Chankaya Chanddragupta and had signed Amitabh Bachchan for the main role. The movie was shelved.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted Amitabh Bachchan to play the lead role of Inspector Inayat Khan in Mission Kashmir. The reason why Amitabh Bachchan declined the role was because of his commitment to Yash Chopras Mohabbatein.

Kader Khan wanted to direct him as the lead hero in Jaahil, unfortunately the movie was never made.

He hates the word Bollywood, the word that describes the Hindi film industry.

Is teetotal

On 31 October 2006, he shocked the unit of a forthcoming movie Shootout at Lokhandwala by recording 23 scenes in 5 hours. Achieving this feat was unheard of.

His daughter, Shweta, is married to Nikhil Nanda, who is the grandson of Raj Kapoor. (Raj Kapoors daughter, Ritu, took on the last name of Nanda when she married Rajan).

His daughter, Shweta, was born on March 17th.

His mom, Teji Bachchan, passed away in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on December 22, 2007, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 93.

Suffers from vitiligo.

In the 2008 movie, Slumdog Millionaire , Amitabh Bachchan is the answer to Jamals first question in the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? ( "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" ) The question: Who was the star in the 1973 hit film Zanjeer ? Through Jamals flashbacks we get to see Amitabh Bachchan in action.

Amitabh Bachchan is the first Indian actor to be paid over Rs 1 crore in remuneration for films. Till 1990s, Amitabh Bachchan was the only star paid in crores.

Favourite onscreen name is Vijay. He has played a character called Vijay 19 times.

Was first named Inquilaab. His mother, Teji Bachchan, was an active participant in the Satyagraha movement and, despite her pregnancy, she remained so committed to the cause that many friends of the Bachchans joked that the baby would be called Inquilab. And he was, till his fathers friend, the poet and novelist Sumitra Nandan Pant, named him Amitabh which means unlimited.

He had 10 releases - including - 8 flops, one hit (Anand) and one above average grosser (Bombay to Goa) before his first big hit, Zanjeer . Zanjeer made him a star and marked the beginning of the "Amitabh Bachchan Phenomenon".

He and Jaya got married a month before Abhimaan released. During the filming of Zanjeer, the cast and crew had decided to go abroad if the movie was a hit. As it was the first trip together for Amitabh and Jaya, he sought his father poet Harivansh Rai Bachchans permission. His father asked if Jaya was going too. When Amitabh replied in the affirmative, he was told to marry her before they left the country.

When Puneet Issar punched him on the sets of Coolie, the actor first bowed to the entire crew for a perfect shot before crumpling in pain outside minutes later.

Favorite actor is Megastar Dilip Kumar.

Favorite actress is Megastar Waheeda Rehman.

Amitabh Bachchan gave a screen test for a film on the set of the 1969 movie, Sajan. This was before Bachchan had signed for any film. The screen test was arranged by Nargis Dutt.

Brother Ajitabh Bachchan has two children. A son named Bhim. A daughter named Naina.

Brother-in-law of actor Rajeev Verma who is married Jaya Bhaduri s sister Rita Badhuri (not an actress).

(April 2005) Pratiksha, Mumbai

Feroz Khan had initially approached Amitabh for the role of Amar in Qurbani. Amitabhs dates were blocked for Shaan and the deal fell through.

Was considered for Gomti Ke Kinare for Sameer Khans role.

After Janasheen, Feroz Khan was to start a film titled " Nasha". The film was to star Feroz Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Fardeen Khan , Aishwarya Rai and Lopsang. But Feroz decided to shelve the film and remake Kurbani.

He is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare Awards, with 39 nominations overall (30 nominations as Best Actor - a record; 9 nominations as Best Supporting Actor - also a record). He also has one Filmfare Award nomination for Best Playback Singer (male) for the song "Mere Paas Aao Mere Doston" for Mr Natwarlal and one Filmfare Award nomination as Producer for Best Film for Paa.

In Amitabhs early struggling days,he had signed a film titled "Pathjad" opposite Asha Parekh. The film was to be produced by Asha Bhosles secretary Babubhai.During the mahurat Asha Parekh refused to pose for pictures with Amitabh. A few weeks later Asha Parekh phoned Babubhai and said "Mujhe us hero ke saath nahin kaam karna hain. Woh bahut hi lamba hain". The film was then restarted as "Pooja" in 1973, directed by Mukul Dutt, starring Amitabh,Waheeda Rehman ,Shatrughan Sinha,Sharmila Tagore. The film was eventually shelved. Asha Parekh denied the entire story saying that the false story was made up by Babubhai. Asha Parekh claims she only got to know about being replaced in the film by reading about it in a newspaper. She said Babubhai went and told Amitabh that false story creating a misunderstanding. She never clarified her side of the story because she felt it would be pointless.

Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar are the only Bollywood stars to have topped Box Office India Top Actors rankings for 16 consecutive years (from 1976 to 1991 and 1948 to 1963 respectively).

As of 2008, Amitabh Bachchan was the all-time highest grossing Hindi film star with a cumulative box office revenue of over Rs 3,700 crore according to trade. (India Today - May 29, 2008).

Until 1984 only 13 films were classified as "All time earners"(films that crossed 1 crore mark in every territory) by Trade, 9 films out of those were Amitabh Bachchan starrers - Sholay , Amar Akbar Anthony , Deewaar , Laawaris , Suhaag , Muqaddar Ka Sikandar , Andhaa Kanoon , Coolie (1983/I) and Naseeb . The other films were Jai Santoshi Maa , Dharam Veer , Ek Duuje Ke Liye and Kranti . The 1 crore mark was considered the magical benchmark for films in 70s and 80s and Amitabh Bachchan is the only star whose films consistently crossed 1 crore mark in every major territory across length and breadth of India.

In the year 2000 Amitabh Bachchan was voted the Sherwoodian of the Century in a poll of Old Sherwoodians. At a reunion of Old Sherwoodians held on November 10th, 2000, he received the Old Sherwoodians Millennium Award for Outstanding Achievement at his alma mater Sherwood College boarding school in Nainital.

In 1999, Amitabh Bachchan was named Megastar of the Millennium (male) in Kinetic Mega Show, a cinema based TV show on Star Plus channel, after public poll conducted over a year.

According to trade magazine Box Office India, the trend of early morning shows and advance bookings across cinemas in India, started due to craze for Amitabh Bachchan films from mid 1970s. The crowds would start queuing up as early as 5 AM in morning even though ticket counters normally opened at 11 AM. The queues for tickets of Amitabh Bachchan films would even extend upto 2-3 kilometers and cause traffic jams on roads. The craze among crowds was so massive that often police had to be called to manage the crowd. Such demand for a stars film has never been witnessed before or since.

Cousins name is Harvinder Kaur. She is Amitabhs mothers sisters daughter. Harvinder is 5 years younger to Amitabh. Her mothers name was Govind Kaur.

Nieces name is Leena Singh (Cousin Harvinder Kaurs daughter).

Brother in laws name is Harbhajan Singh (Cousin Harvinder Kaurs husband).

Cousins names are Kishore Srivastava and Ashok Srivastava. They are the sons of Amitabhs dads brother (Shaligram Shrivastava).

Niece named Naina Bachchan. ( Daughter of Ajitabh). She is married to actor Kunal Kapoor.

Nephew name is Ravi Srivastava. He is the son of cousin Kishore Srivastava.

Nieces name is Nilima Bachchan. (Daughter of Ajitabh). She is a PhD in Aeronautica engineering in the UK.

Niece named Namrita Bachchan (Daughter of Ajitabh) who is a famous artist.

Has 2 nephews. They are the children of actor Rajeev Verma, who is married to Jayas sister Rita. The first nephews name is Shiladitya Verma. He is a painter based in Bhopal. He is married to Poorvi Karanwar. The other nephews name is Thathaghat Verma. He is a software engineer based in Mumbai. He is married to Darshika Mahajan.

Mothers birth name was Tejwant Kaur Suri.

Was to star in ABCLs "Dariya" directed by Priyadarshan, co starring Chandrachur Singh. Amitabh was to play a fisherman. The film got shelved.

Was to star in Sunil Bohras shelved film "Yudh - The War Has Begun" in 2002, co-starring Chandrachur Singh, South Superstar Arjun, Deepti Bhatnagar, Sharad Kapoor.

Feroz Khan had approached Amitabh Bachchan to play Mukesh Khannas role in Yalgaar. Amitabh turned down the role as he did not want to play Feroz Khans father.

Was signed for the film Kartoos opposite Meenakshi in 1987. The film financiers backed out as they did not want Amitabh to play a negative character. The film was later started again with Sanjay Dutt.

Was offered Sunny Deols role in Dacait but turned it down.

Was approached by Subash Ghai to play Jackie Shroffs role in Saudagar. He declined as he felt the role was too small.

Starred in Prakash Mehras shelved film "Kaayar". Co starring Anita Raaj and Raj Babbar. This was in the 1980s. Prakash Mehra shelved the film as he felt it was too similar to Manoj Kumars Sanyasi. He restarted the film as Bal Brahmchari with Puru Rajkumar and Deepak Tijori in 1995.

Starred in Pramod Chakravortys shelved film "Teen Farishtey" co starring Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna in 1975. It was later remade as "Jagir".

The first ever Amitabh Bachchan remix album ever released was titled " Garma Garam Amitabh Volume 1". It was released in 1990 and was remixed by England DJs Amit and San J of X- Zecutive. The album consisted of a few of Amitabhs songs remixed and a lot of dialogs mixed with dance music. The dialogs were from the films, " Amar Akbar Anthony", " Sholay", "Naseeb","Ek Nazar", "Ganga Ki Saugandh","Kaalia", " Satte Pe Satta". The album was a major favorite in night clubs abroad in the 1990s.

Starred in Bunty Walia s shelved film "Just Punjabi" directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Co starring Sanjay Dutt. The films storyline was similar to Jo Bole So Nihal.

Prans son Sunil Sikand tried his hand at filmmaking. Sikand first announced "Karishma" in the 70s, a remake of "Reincarnation of Peter Proud" with Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, Praveen Babi,Danny DenZongpa, even before "Karz." The film was shelved after 3 months. Sunil Sikand then made "Farishta," a remake of "Oliver Twist" in which Pran played the title role. In 1991, Pran co-produced "Lakshmanrekha" for his son.

Starred in I Dream Productions shelved film " Chanakya" co starring Akshay Kumar. This was in 2004.

Apache Indian made reference to Amitabh Bachchan in his song " Movie Over India" in 1990.

Sundar Popo song "Chadar Bichawo Balma" was a song that Amitabh Bachchan incorporated into his medleys on his live stage performances in 1982/83.

His niece Namrita Bachchan (daughter of Ajitabh) participated in a swimming marathon for charity with music composer legend, Biddu.

Produced the shelved movie , Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limiteds "Loveria". Starring Saif Ali Khan,Karisma Kapoor,Mohnish Bahl,Ashok Saraf,Reema Lagoo,Reeta Bhadhuri,Rajiv Verma,Paresh Rawal,Rajesh Joshi, Music by Jatin -Lalit, Directed by Kundan Shah.

Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan hold the Guinness World record for being the only father-son duo to have played reversed roles on-screen in Paa .

His fathers first wifes name was Shyma.

Starred in ABCLs shelved film " Happy Diwali". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee. Directed by Mansoor Khan.

Starred in Sujoy Ghoshs shelved movie "Borivali". Co starring Nseeruddin Shah.

Producers Vicky ( Abhay) Chopra and Sohail Khan were planning a film titled "Sena". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan.Directed by Vicky Chopra.The film was shelved to start "Fight Club".

Starred in the shelved movie "DOGS". starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor. Many actress s were approached for the lead role. Sushmita Sen, Diana Hayden, Rani Mukherjee. The film was to be directed by Mukul Abhyankar. The story line was about two brothers. Amitabh was to be a dog trainer who is banned from the dog training academy due to violent behavior. Rishi Kapoor is his younger brother who is mentally deranged. Problems start when Rishi Kapoor gets involved with a prostitute. As time goes by, the prostitute is more attracted to Amitabh than Rishi.

Starred in Somnath Sens shelved film opposite Madhuri Dixit. Fardeen Khan and Karan Nath were in talks for the second lead. This was in 2004.

Starred in the shelved film "Raftaar - No Way Out". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham. Directed by Sriram Raghavan. This was in 2004.

Starred in BMB Productions shelved film "Bada Bhai". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Tabu. Produced and Directed by KC Bokadia.

Starred in RituParno Ghoshs shelved untitled film. Staring Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar, Aishwarya Rai.The story was about a father who over shadows his son. This was in 2004.

Starred in the shelved movie "Kutumb". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Irrfan Khan. Produced by Firoz Nadiadwala and Directed by Vikram Bhatt (Replaced Mahesh Manjrekar).The film was based on the movie Godfather.

Shammi Kapoor approached him for the lead role in Bundal Baaz. He declined as he didnt have any dates.

Granddaughter Navya Naveli was born on December 6, 1997. Jaya Bachchan wanted to name her Garima.

Starred in Raju Patels shelved film "Tandoor".. Starring Amitabh Bachchan as NRI gourmet chef in New York. He was to star opposite a Hollywood actress who was going to play a lawyer. The film was to be directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. The film got shelved due to disagreement on the films budget between Nagesh and Raju Patel.

Aishwarya Rai was to pair opposite Ajay Devgan in a film that was to be produced by Amitabh Bachchans production company ABCL. The yet untitled project was be based on a family oriented subject with Jaya Bachchan playing Ashs mother. It is learnt that actor Vinod Khanna and Mrs Bachchan play a separated couple in the movie. Amitabh Bachchan himself was not be seen acting in this film that was be produced by ABCL in association with Spice Team Entertainment. Sharbani Deodhar was directing the film. Amitabh Bachchan himself chose not to enact the lead role opposite Jaya because the two elderly characters in the movie are not shown married to one another. Vinod Khannas name for the role was suggested by the Big B only. The film was likely to go on floors in September 2005. It was be shot in Mumbai and London. The film was shelved after announcement.

Actress Tillotama Shome married his nephew Kunal Verma (Rita Bhaduri and Rajeevs son).

When Kamaal Amrohi wanted to research about the film Razia Sultan ,he found the book about Raziia Sultan. in Paris, France, This film took 8 years to complete. After Pakeezah Kamal Mmrohi started the film and also he was the producer of this film, Amitabh Bachchan was to play Dharmendras role and Kabir Bedi Vijendras role. Then A. K..Mishra became the producer of the film and the shooting started with Dharmendra. After 8 years when Kamal Amrohi went to Hollywood for the special effects of the film. Kabir Bed was surprised to see Kamal there and to know the film not completed yet.

In 1969, he was engaged with a air hostess for British Airways. Her name was Maya.

Producer Debesh Ghosh, director Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Amitabh Bachchan worked a lot together. The same team before had made Jurmana and Bemisaal together. The same team were to make the 3rd film together. It was launched in 1982 and it was titled Auqaat with Amiitabh Bachchan, Jaya Pradha & Anita Raaj, but was then shelved due to Amitabhs accident on Coolie sets.

Ramesh Sippy had launched a film titled Laadla with Amitabh Bachchan and Sangeeta Bijiliani (Replaced Amrita Singh), Produced by A.G. Nadiadwala. Sadly then the film was shelved and later after some years the tittle Laadla was used for this Anil Kapoor film.

Paternal grandparents names were Pratap Narayan Shrivastava and Saraswati Devi Shrivastava.

Maternal grandparents name was Khazan Singh Suri and Amar Kaur Sodhi.

Maternal great grandfather name was Sunder Singh Suri.

Paternal great grandfather name is Munshi Ishwari Prasad. (Amitabhs grandmothers father).

Paternal uncle name is Shaligram Shrivastava.He wrote the famous book "Prayag Pradeep" in 1937. It was based on the political history of Allahabad.

Granduncle name is Bindeshwari Prasad. He was the brother of Saraswati Devi Shrivastava (Harivansh Rai Bachchans mother).

Great grandfather name is Bhola Nath Shrivastava. He was the father of Pratap Narayan Shrivastava (Amitabhs grandfather).

Tulsa Shrivastava was the sister of Amitabhs grandfather Pratap Narayan Shrivastava.

Great grandfather name was Bhola Nath Shrivastava (Grandfather of Harivansh Rai Bachchan).

Great Great grand father name was Mithu Lal (Harivansh Rai Bachchan great grandfather).

Amitabh Bachchans grand uncles (Harivansh Rai Bachchans dads brothers) names were Ganesh (Ganes) Prasad ( Had no children), Jagganath Prasad (Died in early adulthood, Had one son Shiv Prasad), Murlidhar Prasad (Died in early adulthood, Had one daughter), Mohan Lal ( Had one son Thakur Prasad and a daughter who married a doctor named Brij Bihari Lal).

"The Big B Shuffle" by Botown was a song done by the band as a tribute for Amitabh Bachchan.

The song "Chota Sa Aadmi Hoon, Amitabh Nahin Hoon" from the film Chotta Aadmi , mentions Amitabhs name in the song.

Starred in the shelved film "Bandhua" Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Waheeda Rehman, Naseeruddin Shah,Pooja Bedi ( replaced Shilpa Shirodkar), Produced and Directed by J.P. Dutta.

Amitabh was involved with a girl named Karuna in college. His best friend Raj Saroagi was involved with Karunas sister. Years later in 1985, Amitabh bought a house from Raj Saroagi in Delhi.

Daughter Shwetas birth name is " Shvetambara". This means.Saraswati, The Godess of Learning.

Amitabh Bachchan sang a song titled " Mehenga Rupaiya" in his album with Aby Baby with Bally Sagoo. Amitabh first performed the song in his album "Amitabh Bachchan with Kalyanji Anandji - Live Tonight" in 1982.

Amitabh had came to Bombay in the late 60s to meet producers and hopefully get a screen test. After that he would return to his job at Bird & Company in Calcutta. He was screen tested by Mohan Segal on yhe sets of Sajan. Amitabh had impressed Manoj Kumar. Manoj was able to get Amitabh the role of Nutans husband in Yaadgar. But by then Amitabn had left back for Calcutta. Manoj decided to cast Amitabh years later when he made Roti Kapda Makaan.

Amitabh had sent his pictures to the Filmfare Madhuri contest. Amitabh pictures were rejected, but Mr.Arvind Kumar of Madhuri was confident that this was a face of a star. He sent the pictures to Suni Dutts office Ajanta Arts. Suni Dutt was impressed with the pictures and passed them around to his colleagues to get their opinion. They all responded in negative. Many criticized his face and height. But Suni Dutt felt that Amitabh had something special in him.

Amitabh starred in a unreleased Assamese film, titled "Sonti", was directed by Amit Mitra in 1975 and Amitabh Bachchan played a key role in the action-packed movie. While shooting for the film was almost complete, it was never released due to a clash between the producers, director and distributors."The shots were taken in then Calcutta (now Kolkata) and the film was almost complete but due to a clash on a financial issue among the producers, director and the distributor, the film was not released. Amitabh Bachchan played a positive character in Sonti. The Assamese audience has missed a good opportunity of watching Amitabh Bachchan portraying a character in an Assamese movie," Eastern Chronicle quoted Dinesh Das, who had also acted in the movie. Actor Nipon Goswami, who was also part of the movie, added, "Sontis story was based on the novel Oliver Twist or The Parish Boys Progress by Charles Dickens. It was a story about an orphan boy and his struggle of life. It was a good experience working with Amitabh Bachchan who was then one of the superstars of Bollywood. I will cherish it forever." The unreleased movie, "Sonti", was reportedly an action film that also featured Assamese actors Akhil Deka, Dilip Choudhury, Ila Kakoti and Parag Patra.

In 1969, Sawan Kumar Tak was going to launch a film titled Mirza Ghalib. The film starred Amitabh Bachchan and Leena Chandarvarkar. The film got shelved due to lack of finances.

Starred in the shelved film Chanakya- Chandragupt. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, directed by Prakash Mehra. the films incomplete script was the reason the film was shelved.

Starred in the shelved film " Aasman". Starring Waheeda Rehman, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha. Directed by Mohan Kumar.

Starred in the shelved film "Ghazab". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Rekha, Directed by Manmohan Desai. The film was shelved due to being over budget.

Starred in the shelved film Shiva Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Romesh Sharma, Produced by Prakash Mehra, Directed by Rakesh Kumar. Boxing legend Muhammed Ali was going to have a guest appearance in the film.The films script being incomplete was the reason the film was shelved.

Starred in the shelved film "Aar Paar" Starring Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan,Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh, Sulakshna Pandit.Prouduced by Mushir Riaz, Music by Rahul Dev Burman. Directed by Shakti Samanta.

Starred in the shelved film Sarfarosh Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Rishi Kapoor. Directed by Manmohan Desai. The film was shelved due to many problems in the script. It was restarted with Amitabh and Anita Raj in 1984. Once again it got shelved again.

Starred in the shelved film "Tiger" Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Rekha, Waheeda Rehman, Produced Prakash Mehra, Directed by Rakesh Kumar.

Starred in the shelved film "Gulli Danda" Starring Amitabh Bachchan,Vinod Mehra, Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film was shelved due to Amitabhs Coolie accident.

Starred in the shelved film "Jaahil Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Pradha, Directed by Kader Khan, The film was shelved due to Amitabhs accident in Coolie. Years later some scenes were later used in the film Agneepath. The scene when the little boy carries his dead fathers body to the cremation place. The film was later launched with Sunil Shetty and Raveena Tandon in 1995. It was once again shelved.

Starred in the shelved film Fauladi Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh.Directed by Prayag Raj. the film was shelved due to Amitabh going into politics.

Starred in the shelved film "Kartoos" Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Amrita Singh. Produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, Directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The film was shelved due to the financiers and distributors not liking the idea of Amitabh playing a negative role. Years later Nadiadwala started Kartoos with Sanjay Dutt but with a different script.

Starred in the shelved film Alishaan Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia.Kimi Katkar. Kimis ole was offered to Anu Aggarwal but she did not want to act in films at this point. The film was produced by Habib Nadiadwala,Directed by Tinnu Anand,The film got shelved when Amitabh and Tinnu decided to make the offbeat Main Azaad Hoon. The script of Alishaan was then leaked out and made years later as "Rajkumar" with Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.The two other heroines roles were finally scrapped.

Starred in the shelved film Rudra (Mahakaal) Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple Kapdia, Directed by S Ramanathan. The film was shelved due to Amitabhs health issue.

Starred in the shelved film Shanaakht Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Madhavi. Directed by Tinnu Anand. The film was shelved due to many similarities with Ganga Jamuna Saraswati.

The film Duniya Ka Mela was started under the name "Ek Tha Chander Ek Thi Sudha" (Apna Paraya) and starred Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha. After a month long shooting, Amitabh was replaced by the director. The directors reasoning was due to Amitabhs then flop status, no distributors were buying the film. Amitabh even shot for a song with Rekha. Amitabh was replaced with Sanjay Khan and the title of the film was changed to "Duniya Ka Mela". The film flopped and Amitabhs Zanjeer became a blockbuster. The song shot from Ek Tha Chander Ek Thi Sudha with Amitabh can be seen on YouTube.

Starred in the shelved film "Patthar Ke Log" Starring Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan,Shatrughan Sinha, Hema Malini, Reena Roy,Poonam Dhillon, Ranjeeta Kaur, Kanwaljeet, Produced by Romu Sippy, Directed by Raj.N. Sippy. The film was shelved due to its high budget. Plus Raj Sippy decided to make Satte Pe Satta. Years later actor, producer Rajan Sippy wanted to revive the script and make the film.

Starred in the shelved film Gotrantar Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhadhuri, Produced by Arun Kaul, Directed by Mrinal Sen. The film was based on Subodh Goshs short story. The film was restarted as " Ek Adhuri Kahani" with Shekhar Chaterjee,Aarati Bhattacharya.

Starred in the shelved film "Devaa" Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Raaj Kumar, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Shammi Kapoor, Ila Arun, Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal,Directed by Subhash Ghai. The film was shelved due to Amitabha and Subahsh Ghai having several ego clashes. Plus Boney Kapoor kept advising Ghai that Devaa would be too expensive a film and would not recover its money. He should start Ram Lakhan with Anil Kapoor as that would be more financially a better film.

Prakash Mehra had a script with him for many years. He started a film in the 1980 s as the much hyped " Kaayar" with Amitabh Bachchan, Anita Raaj and Raj Babbar. The film was shelved because it was too similar to Manoj Kumars Sanyasi. Prakash Mehra then restarted Kaayar with a different subject with Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Kumar. Akshay agreed to the film, but asked Prakash Mehra to replace Sanjay Dutt. Akshay told Ptakash he would not be comfortable to work with Sanjay Dutt due to his problems during the making of Amaanat. Prakash Mehra decided to replace Akshay with Puru Raajkumar. Sanjay Dutt also left the film and Jeetendra was signed. Again he had to shelve the film because the second half of the film was the exact same as the Rishi Kapoor, Nana Patekar film Hum Dono. Prakash Mehra then decided to make a new film. He chose the subject of Bal Brahmachari and decided to launch Puru Raj Kumar in a solo hero film.

Chetan Anand first conceived a project in the 1970s as Salim-Anarkali with his muse, Priya Rajvansh, as the courtesan and the then rising star, Amitabh Bachchan, as Salim. The music was to have been scored by Madan Mohan, but he died in 1975 while working on the soundtrack. Anand subsequently shelved the film. He tried to revive it in the 1990s as Mallika-e-Hind with Madhuri Dixit, but this project too did not take off.

Starred in the shelved film Ram Ki Seeta Shyam Ki Geeta Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sri Devi (Both in double roles). Directed by Ramesh Sippy. The song Jhooma Chumma was originally recorded for this film. When the film got shelved, Mukul Anand requested he use the song for Hum.

Starred in the shelved film "Captain ". Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Aamir Khan,Amrita Singh, Sonu Walia, Produced and Directed by Rakesh Roshan.

In 1990, Mahesh Bhatt wanted to make a film with Amitabh Bachchan and Anu Aggrawal. The film did not take off.

There was talk of Amitabh to do a small role in Siddhartha. That did not work out.

Indian adult film actor "Ameatabh Bachan" took this screen name as he is a huge fan of the legend.

Dev Anand was going to produce a film titled "Godfather" with Amitabh in the lead,directed by Anil Sharma. Dev was not going to act in the film. The film was eventually shelved. This was in 1989.

Prior to Amitabhs accident in Coolie, Amjad Khan was going to make a film with Amitabh titled " Lambai Chaudai" ( Bud Spencer-Terrence Hill type of film). Amitabh then later went into politics and the film was shelved.

Afted Meri Jung Subhash Ghai had announced a film titled Sher Bahadur with Amitabh. The film was shelved due to Amitabhs sudden illness.

I have never really been confident about my career at any stage.

Everyone must accept "that we will age and age is not always,flattering".

I wish I had time to learn all the languages of our country, I wish I,knew how to play a musical instrument. There are many things that I,feel I have missed out on.

My achievements are no-where near him. In-fact I did more multi,star-cast films and less solo hero films than him. Once i got success,in angry young man genre I had to stick to it and whenever I tried to,do something different it was a failure so I stayed away from,experimenting much. But Khanna never bothered about such things.

In-spite of not working much after 1991 he has done 180 films and Am,far behind him. I have highest regards for him since the 1965 when I,heard about him then my respect only increased when I worked with him,and till date I regard him as a greater actor.

Whatever free time I get, I love to catch news and sports shows.

I should only look back at moments that were disparaging, look down upon, negative for me - moments where I could learn something. And if I have been able to use that learning in future, then I am happy about it.

The body is an amazing system.

Coming together should be considered something positive for people and communities. When thoughts come together, that can be more positive than an individual thought.