Amitabh Bachchan says his personal donation for Covid-19 relief often matches entire fundraisers: 'I didn't ask, I gave'

Actor Amitabh Bachchan has written in his blog that although fundraisers are laudable, he will never start one himself as he finds asking for money 'embarrassing'.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who has been providing daily updates about his Covid-19 relief efforts, has said that there is a deliberate reason why he hasn't started a fundraiser. He said that he finds it 'embarrassing' to ask for money from others, and does whatever he can through his own 'extremely limited means'.

Amitabh Bachchan recovered from Covid-19 last year.

The actor wrote in a blog post on Saturday that the only reason he is sharing updates about his charitable efforts is not to seek praise, but to assure everyone that help is actually being provided and that he isn't simply making 'blank promises'.

"I give wherever I can .. my means are extremely limited .. it may not seem so , but they are," the actor wrote, adding, "I have not made any effort to collect them through campaigns or donations to a cause that I may have instituted .. I just feel asking someone for funds is embarrassing for me."

He admitted that he had appeared in public service advertisements, but said that he never directly asked for contributions. "If there have been such unseen or unknown incidents then I seek forgiveness," he wrote.

Amitabh wrote that he has noticed others initiate fundraisers, 'but with all due respect and modesty, at times the amount that I have personally individually donated, matches the funds collected out of the campaigns.' He wrote, "I did not ask .. I gave."

In recent days, as the second wave of the pandemic swept across the country, actors such as Anushka Sharma and Priyanka Chopra have created fundraisers to provide aid to those in need. Anushka and Virat Kohli's campaign, to which they contributed ₹2 crore, recently crossed the ₹11 crore-mark.

In a recent blog post, Amitabh wrote that when all is said and done, his personal contribution will be in the vicinity of ₹25 crore.