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He's 80 and going stronger than ever, spooling in celluloid miles' with the roles rolling in and directors still lining up to sign him on. <keyword id="6357912" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amitabh-Bachchan" source="Orion">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword>, they say, was and is still an exciting actor, perhaps the best there ever has been. From Ramesh Sippy who directed him in the 1975 cult film <keyword id="6407374" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sholay" source="Orion">Sholay</keyword> to Ayan Mukerji who helmed his latest Brahmastra 47 years later, <keyword id="6354348" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bachchan" source="Orion">Bachchan</keyword> is the man for all seasons and all kinds of films. "What a wonderful innings it has been and he just keeps getting better. He has played so many varied roles in comedy, drama, romance, dancing and songs. He can do anything and everything perfectly. Has there been anybody bigger or better? I doubt it, Sippy told PTI as the star celebrates his 80th birthday on Tuesday. It's been just five days since his latest release Goodbye . "For me, to have Mr. Bachchan walk in my film is a big deal. He is the father of Indian cinema. He is the most respected person in the film industry, Mukerji added. Making his debut with the relatively low profile Saat Hindustani in 1969, remembered all these years primarily for serving as his launchpad, Bachchan exploded on the silver screen with <keyword id="31017" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zanjeer" source="Orion">Zanjeer</keyword> in 1973. There was no looking back after that, and storytellers across five decades are still trying to decode the success of the man who keeps on reinventing himself - the angry young man' of Zanjeer , Don and Deewaar , the amiable, fun professor of Chupke Chupke and the conflicted singing star of Abhimaan in the 1970s. Then came the 1980s with films such as Shakti and Silsila . The 1990s saw a slump in Bachchan's career and many of films, including "Mrityudata" and "Lal Baadshah", tanked at the box office. Bachchan was back in the reckoning the following decade as a television host in Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000. Twenty-two years later, the show is still running. This is also the time Bachchan transitioned into age appropriate characters in films. It started with Mohabbatein and continues with varied roles, be it Pink , Cheeni Kum or Jhund . Sippy recalled the casting for Sholay , which saw Bachchan and Dharmendra as two friends thick as thieves . "I had seen two of his earlier films -- Anand' in which he played a serious role, it was a difficult role and he stood out, and Bombay to Goa', where he played a lighter and a more boisterous role, which had impressed me a lot. We signed him. A few months later "Zanjeer" and "Deewar" released. By the time "Sholay" came, he was the rising star, the veteran filmmaker added. Sippy, who also worked with Bachchan in "Shakti", "Shaan" and "Akayla", said it is exciting to see the megastar recreate magic on screen, both the big and small even after all these years. There have been a lot of fine actors and there is absolute respect for all but he definitely stands above, he said.They may be in awe of him, but all of Bachchan's directors have experimented with the roles they offered him. R Balki, who first worked with Bachchan on an advertisement campaign, gave him "Cheeni Kum", where Bachchan is a 60-something arrogant chef romancing a much younger Tabu, and Paa that sees the star playing a 12-year-old boy afflicted with progeria. "Every filmmaker thinks of Mr Bachchan first, everybody would love to get a chance to work with him. We all came to the cinema being his fans. I was luckier than some people. I write my films for him. I have been searching for my next film for some years now," Balki told PTI. The filmmaker's other ventures -- Ki &amp; Ka , Pad Man and Chup: Revenge of the Artist -- feature the veteran star in a special appearance. There is one word to describe Amit ji and it is Amitabh Bachchan. There are no other words... It has become like a character itself. It has so much meaning, you can say persona, dignity, grace, powerful, voice, performance, everything being put together. There is a character called Amitabh Bachchan. That character is a rare phenomenon, Balki said. For new-age directors -- Ayan Mukerji and Ribhu Dasgupta -- the opportunity to direct Bachchan is nothing short of a dream. While Mukerji cast Bachchan as a guru in his astraverse, sci-fi film, Dasgupta directed Bachchan in the TV series "Yudh" (2014) and 2016 mystery-thriller Te3n . Dasgupta has tried hard to keep his fan boy self out of the picture. I come from Kolkata and we worship him there. There is an Amitabh Bachchan temple in Kolkata. But when I directed him, I had to keep the fan boy out. Also, sir knows everything, where the camera should be, what and where the light should be, etc. He sees what the person in front is doing," Dasgupta said. This year, Bachchan has already had three theatrical releases -- Nagraj Manjule-directed Jhund , Ajay Devgn's Runway 34 and Brahmastra . His latest film "Goodbye", directed by Vikas Bahl, opened on Friday. He is now awaiting the release of "Uunchai", directed by Sooraj Barjatya SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-7-and-pixel-7-pro-with-tensor-g2-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-59999/articleshow/94696867.cms">Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 chipset launched in India starting at ₹59,999</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-5g-prices-may-be-affordable-for-now-but-expected-to-increase-after-wider-rollout/articleshow/94636173.cms">Reliance Jio and Airtel 5G prices may be affordable for now but expected to increase after wider rollout</a>

Amitabh@80: Still a delight, keeps getting better, say directors old and new

Happy Birthday to legendary <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Bollywood+">Bollywood</a> mega star <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amitabh+Bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan</a>! He turned 73 on Sunday. <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> India brings you 73 facts about the actor who has done approximately 200 films till date and counting. 
 
1. He was named Inquilaab. However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed his name to Amitabh. 
 
2. Although his surname was Shrivastava, his father had adopted the pen name Bachchan. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amitabh+Bachchan">Big B</a> stuck to it. 
 
3. He is the tallest top star in Hindi cinema. His height is 74 inches or 1.88 m. 
 
4. Every filmmaker Bachchan approached thought he was too tall to be cast in a film. 
 
5. He studied from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Kirori+Mal+College%2C+Delhi+University">Kirori Mal College, Delhi University</a>. 
 
6. He holds double master degree in arts. 
 
7. He was very keen to join the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+Air+Force">Indian Air Force</a>, but couldn’t. 
 
8. His first job was with Shaw Wallace. 
 
9. He later worked as a freight broker for the shipping firm Bird and Co. 
 
10. His first car was a second-hand Fiat. 
 
11. He was rejected by the All India Radio after an audition test. 
 
12. He had spent a few nights on a bench in Mumbai’s Marine Drive. 
 
13. He made his debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's ‘Bhuvan Shome’. 
 
14. He was also a voice narrator for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/10-Indians-who-received-Asias-coveted-Ramon-Magsaysay-Award/articleshow/48280773.cms">Satyajit Ray</a>’s ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ in 1977. 
 
15. He made his acting debut with ‘Saat Hindustani’, his only black and white film. 
 
16. Bachchan received Rs. 1,000 for his debut film. 
 
17. Comedian Mehmood offered him to stay in his own house during his struggling days. 
 
18. The superstar has given 12 consecutive flops before his first big hit ‘Zanjeer’. 
 
19. ‘Zanjeer’ changed his life for good. 
 
20. He chose his screen name to be Vijay for over 20 flicks. 
 
21. He met his wife Jaya for the first time at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Film-maker-Vivek-Agnihotri-says-you-cant-give-anyone-a-chance-to-run-FTII/articleshow/48051158.cms">FTII, Pune</a>. 
 
22. He married Jaya Bhaduri in 1973, the year when their film ‘Zanjeer’ released. 
 
23. Their film ‘Abhimaan’ was released only a month after their marriage and became a hit. 
 
24. Hrishikesh Mukherjee played the role of a mentor for both of them. 
 25. <keyword id="18536" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="sunil-dutt">Sunil Dutt</keyword> signed him for a film only because he got a letter of introduction from late PM Indira Gandhi. 
 
26. During his struggling period, he was introduced to director Prakash Mehra by Kalyanji-Anandji. 
 
27. Bachchan has also worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. 
 
28. He entered politics in support of long-time family friend Rajiv Gandhi. 
 
29. He won Allahabad seat of 8th <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Lok+Sabha+">Lok Sabha</a> by 68.2% votes. 
 
30. Amitabh-Jaya is the only real-life couple to have starred on-screen for 30 years from ‘Ek Nazar’ to ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’. 
 
31. Sholay, in which he played the role of ‘Jai’, released in 1975, becoming the highest grossing film of all time in India. 
 
32. In 1999, BBC India declared it the ‘Film of the Millennium’. 
 
33. He was diagnosed with ‘Myasthenia gravis’ after he suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the making of ‘Coolie’. 
 34. He has played more double roles than any other actor in <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword>. 
 
35. He is the most-nominated actors for popular film awards. 
 
36. His last film where actress Nirupa Roy played the role of his mother was ‘Lal Baadshah’. 
 
37. A 15-year press ban against Bachchan was imposed during his peak acting years by Stardust. 
 
38. Bachchan later claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets till late 1989. 
 39. He set up <keyword id="6357912" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="amitabh-bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword> Corporation, Ltd. (ABCL) in 1996. 
 40. ABCL was the main sponsor of the 1996 <keyword id="145" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Miss-World">Miss World</keyword> beauty pageant in Bangalore, but lost millions. 
 
41. He was one of the judges for the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant. 
 
42. ABCL’s operations collapsed in 1997. 
 
43. The Bombay HC restrained him from selling off his bungalow 'Prateeksha' in 1999 to pay off his loans. 
 
44. He debuted in Malayalam film in 2010 directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal. 
 
45. In 2013, he made his Hollywood debut in ‘The Great Gatsby’ opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. 
 
46. He was awarded with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Padma+Shri%2C+Padma+Bhushan+and+Padma+Vibhushan">Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan</a> for his contributions to arts. 
 
47. The French government honoured him with its highest civilian honour Knight of the Legion of Honour. 
 
48. French director François Truffaut called him a "one-man industry". 
 
49. He started being called Big B in late 90s after his second comeback with ‘Mrityudaata’. 
 
50. Dr. Harvanshrai Bachchan had penned the song ‘Rang Barse’ for ‘Silsila’ and some lyrics for ‘Alaap’ and so is the poetry in ‘Agneepath’. 
 
51. He is a vegetarian and a teetotaler. 
 
52. He is the first Asian actor to have a wax model displayed at Madame Tussauds' in London. 
 
53. Amitabh Bachchan is ambidextrous. 
 
54. He was honoured with the 'Actor of the Century' award in 2001 at an Alexandria Film Festival in Egypt. 
 
55. Has been known to suffer from asthma. 
 
56. He shocked the unit of ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’ by recording 23 scenes in 5 hours in 2006. 
 
57. It is said both his bungalows – Jalsa and Pratiksha - put together would be worth Rs. 160 crore. 
 
58. He likes collecting pens. The actor has a collection of over thousand pens. 
 59. He owns 11 cars, including one <keyword id="6415837" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Lexus">Lexus</keyword>, two BMWs and three Mercedes. 
 
60. His favourite is the Lexus, which is bulletproof. 
 
61. In 2012, Amitabh Bachchan was given the due honour to carry the Olympic torch during the last leg of its relay in London's Southwark. 
 
62. In 2000, Bachchan hosted the first season of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)’, a big hit. 
 
63. Bachchan lent his voice as a narrator for ‘Lagaan’ released in 2001. 
 
64. He doesn’t like the word Bollywood, the word being used to describe the Hindi film industry. 
 65. In 2013, he bought a 10% stake in <keyword id="6436290" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="just-dial">Just Dial</keyword>. 
 
66. He holds 3.4% equity in Stampede Capital, a financial technology firm specializing in cloud computing. 
 
67. The Bachchan family bought shares worth $252,000 in Meridian Tech, a consulting company in U.S. 
 
68. Several books have been written about Bachchan such as Amitabh Bachchan: the Legend was published; To be or not to be: Amitabh Bachchan; AB: The Legend; Amitabh Bachchan: Ek Jeevit Kimvadanti etc. 
 
69. Bachchan himself wrote a book in 2002: ‘Soul Curry for you and me – An Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life’. 
 
70. He allowed the use of his likeness for the comic book character Supremo in a series titled ‘The Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan’. 
 
71. In 2014, Australian La Trobe University named a Scholarship after Bachchan. 
 
72. He was named ‘hottest vegetarian’ by PETA India in 2012. 
 
73. Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is by far the most followed Indian actor on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Twitter">Twitter</a> with 17.2 million followers. 
 
 
(Image: Reuters)

73 things you must know about Amitabh Bachchan

<keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> is an industry ruled by the rich and the famous. And when we say rich, we mean stinking rich. If you have it, flaunt it – that’s their policy. No wonder these stars with a heart of gold have often showered their dear ones with the most opulent <keyword id="24861" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Gift">gift</keyword>s. It’s not right to put a price tag on a gift, but these gifts are so super expensive that our jaws drop and we can’t stop drooling. Here’s a look at some eye-popping, jaw-dropping and insanely lavish gifts that Bollywoodwalas have given each other. 
 
Statutory warning: Going through this list can be injurious to your health during the Season of Love. 
 
1. Shah Rukh Khan He is called the King of Hearts for all the right reasons. The actor surely knows how to pamper his dear ones. In 2009, SRK gifted an <keyword id="6363321" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Audi">Audi</keyword> 6 worth Rs 60 lakh to his kids Aryan and Suhana. Not just that. SRK gave <keyword id="22746" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="rohit-shetty">Rohit Shetty</keyword> (the director of Chennai Express) a designer sports bike worth over Rs 15 lakh as a birthday gift. If that seems going overboard, just read this. After the release of Ra.One, SRK gifted <keyword id="6355119" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="BMW">BMW</keyword> 7 series sedans to five members of the movie team and it cost him Rs 1 crore each. 
 
2. Salman Khan 
When it comes to showering expensive love, Sallu Bhai is not lagging behind. When Kareena didn’t take any payment for the item number Fevicol Se, Salman returned the gesture with a swanky BMW. A dear brother, Salman has also gifted a penthouse and a precious diamond bracelet worth Rs 1.25 crore to his sister Alvira. Rumours were rife that Salman had gifted a lavish SUV to his ex-girlfriend <keyword id="16421" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Katrina">Katrina</keyword>, which she sold once the relationship hit the rocks. 
 
3. Sanjay Dutt 
A doting husband, Sanjay Dutt is busy praying at dargahs and temples for the speedy recovery of his wife Manyata. During their happy days, Sanjay had gifted Manyata a car that one can only dream of! A <keyword id="46484" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rolls-Royce">Rolls-Royce</keyword> worth Rs 3 crore! He is, indeed, a dilwala. It takes a heart of gold to give away your Hublot watch worth Rs 10 lakh to your director for doing a great scene. Sanju did this with his Zanjeer director. That the movie tanked at the box office is a different story. 
 
4. <keyword id="18641" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Raj-Kundra">Raj Kundra</keyword> 
Marrying Raj Kundra was probably the only right decision that Shilpa ever took. On Valentine’s Day in 2009, the lady was presented a 48 carat heart-shaped natural white diamond ring worth a fortune by her hubby dearest. Raj also gifted an apartment on the 19th floor of The Burj Khalifa in Dubai and a lavish mansion in England, which cost him £5.5 million. 
 
5. <keyword id="6354714" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Ajay-Devgn">Ajay Devgn</keyword> Madly in love with his wife Kajol, Ajay Devgn presented her a swanky sedan for giving him the other love of his life – their daughter <keyword id="995647" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Nyasa">Nyasa</keyword>. But that’s not all. Once again on her birthday, Ajay gave her an Audi Q7. Kajol drives him crazy for sure! 
 
6. Aamir Khan 
From PDA to gifts, when it comes to showing off his love for his girl, Aamir is at the top of things. First he gifted Kiran a grandiose holiday home at Beverly Hills worth Rs 75 crore and after the success of Dhobi Ghat, he gave her the keys of a swish set of wheels – a BMW 5. 
 
7. <keyword id="18815" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Imraan-Khan">Imraan Khan</keyword> 
Like mama, like bhanja (nephew). The very romantic husband Imraan Khan gifted an imported Beetle to his wife Avantika. The red beauty is worth Rs 30 lakh. 
 
8. Vidhu Vinod Chopra It was the director’s dream to work with mega star <keyword id="6357912" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="amitabh-bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword>. And when this dream came true with Eklavya, where Big B played the role of a royal guard, a happy Chopra bestowed upon Amitabh a Rolls-Royce worth Rs 3.5 crore. 
 
9. <keyword id="499" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="abhishek-bachchan">Abhishek Bachchan</keyword> When your grandfather is Big B and mommy is <keyword id="6366471" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Aishwarya-Rai">Aishwarya Rai</keyword> Bachchan, it isn’t a big deal to get a Mini Cooper on your first birthday from Papa Abhishek. 
 
10. Siddharth Roy Kapur Much in love, hubby Siddharth gifted a sea-facing, high-end luxury flat in Juhu to his wife <keyword id="3844" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Vidya-Balan">Vidya Balan</keyword>.

10 Bollywood Stars With A Heart Of Gold:
They Blow A Few Millions On Expensive Gifts

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Amitabh@80: Still a delight, keeps getting better, say directors old and new

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