Amitabh Bachchan finds it awkward to call his parents' marriage inter-caste: ‘I am half-Sardar’

On a recent episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, host Amitabh Bachchan opened up on being born to parents from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Did you know that Amitabh Bachchan is a half-Sikh. He opened up on his parents' marriage on a recent episode of his popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati, although he claimed he finds it awkward to call it “inter-caste.” (Also Read – Vettaiyan trailer: Rajinikanth-Amitabh Bachchan face-off in an epic tale of justice. Watch)

Amitabh Bachchan opens up on his parents' inter-caste marriage

What Amitabh said

While discussing inter-caste marriages with Kirti, a contestant on KBC, Amitabh said, “I find it a little awkward to call it inter-caste. My father was from Uttar Pradesh, and my mother was from a Sikh family. I believe I am half-Sardar. When I was born, my masis (maternal aunts) would say, ‘Kinna sona putar hai, sadda Amitabh Singh (What a beautiful son, our Amitabh Singh).'”

Amitabh also confessed on the same episode that he struggled with the subject of Math in school and could manage to score only 42 marks in one of the exams. When asked by Kirti if he gifts his wife and fellow veteran actor Jaya Bachchan jewellery, he replied, "You’ve asked me quite a personal question, but yes, I do gift her. Hope no one from the Income Tax department is watching this!”

About Amitabh's parents

Amitabh's father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a renowned poet and writer. He was a part of the Nayi Kavita (romantic upsurge) movement of the early 20th century Hindi literature. Best known for his classic poem Madhushala, Harivansh was conferred upon the Padma Bhushan in 1976. Born in Babupatti, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh in British India, his family name was Srivastav. He used “Bachchan” as his pen name.

Meanwhile, Amitabh's mother Teji Bachchan was a social activist born in a Sikh family in Lyallpur, Punjab Province, British India. She met Harivansh at a college event in Lahore, and the two got married in Allahabad in 1941. She went on to play Lady Macbeth in her husband's adaptation of William Shakespeare's iconic play Macbeth.

They became parens to two sons – Amitabh and Ajitabh Bachchan. Interestingly, Amitabh married Jaya Bhaduri, an actor who hailed from a Bengali family in Kolkata. Amitabh's parents died in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

On the work front, Amitabh will be next seen in Vettaiyan and Section 84.