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I wanted to be another actor: Big B
Amitabh Bachchan has appeared in more than 150 films and is one of the world's most recognisable movie stars.
Amitabh Bachchan has appeared in more than 150 films and is one of the world's most recognisable movie stars.
At a recent Lincoln Center retrospective of the 62-year-old Indian filmstar's work, pandemonium erupted among the 1,100 people in the sold-out hall who leaped to their feet, jumped up and down and waved their arms when the floor was opened to questions.
Bachchan, or "Big B" as he is called, was gracious with every request, no matter how silly. (One questioner wanted to know: "What do you do on weekends?")
Bachchan's enduring popularity in India is matched by few of his contemporaries. More than 30 years after he started acting in films like 'Saat Hindustani' and 'Anand', he remains a bankable box-office star. The reason people continue to love him after so many years, however, is a mystery even to him.
"I wouldn't be able to answer that question," Bachchan said in a recent interview. "It's difficult to look at yourself from inside, I think you would be defeating a lot of your instincts if you already knew who or what you are."
Bachchan, son of a well-known Hindi poet, decided to try his hand at acting professionally after graduating college and taking a job as an executive at a company.
"(I wanted) to be another actor, to get an opportunity to express myself, play different characters," Bachchan said, adding that he enjoyed acting as a youngster in school. "I was never very sure that I would become a leading man, that was quite by accident, and then it just stuck.
